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Kotoko to battle Medeama in Kumasi

The Porcupine Warriors will welcome the Mauves and Yellow outfit in a make or break encounter

Asante Kotoko will be seeking their first win in the ongoing Ghana Premier League season as they face Medeama at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi on Sunday.

The match is expected to be full of thrills and aggression as the away side would also be eyeing for their first point of the season, having lost their first two matches, while Kotoko lost their opening game of the season to WAFA and have a game in hand against Ashgold due to their CAF Champions League game against M.O Bejaia.

The porcupine Warriors have a good reputation to protect on match day 3, because no team has ever beaten them at home on match day 3, since the inception of the Ghana Premier League in the 1993-94 season. (W8, D3), while Medeama have won 1, lost 1 and drawn 3 of their 5 away games on match day 3, since their Ghana Premier League campaign in the 2007-08 season.

Kotoko have revenge on their mind, due to the FA Cup loss to Medeama, while the visitors want to avoid going three matches without a point.

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Match facts and team news

Kotoko

The Porcupine Warriors have a lot of injury concerns ahead of the game: Players like Kwame Boateng, Dauda Mohammed, Edwin Frimpong Manso, Jackson Owusu, Frank Sarfo Gyamfi and Felix Annan are all on the injury list of Kotoko.

Coach David Dunncan attributed their 0-2 defeat to WAFA on match day 1 to the injury crisis his team suffered before and during the game.

Kotoko last lost at home in the league on match day 22 last season, when Berekum Chelsea inspired by Kofi Owusu, the eventual goal king last season, whitewashed the hosts 0-3, to become the first side since Corners Stones in 1973 to beat them by that margin in Kumasi and also replicated Akotex feat as the last away team to beat Kotoko 3-0 in Kumasi in 1971.

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Medeama

The FA Cup champions have gone 21 away league games without a victory, having lost 15 of those encounters with 6 draws, which is a very shambolic away performance on their part. The entire 2014-15, they never won an away league fixture.  Their last away league win was 26 February, 2014 when they piped New Edubiase United 0-1.

The Tarkwa outfit have lost their first two games, having lost 1-2 to Ashgold on day 1 and 0-2 to Hearts of Oak, which was their first home defeat to the Phobians, since they made it to the GPL in the 2007-08 season.

The defeat is expected to demoralize them, but Essirifi, the CEO of the club has stated  that it is normal to lose two games and although that was the first Hearts won at Tarkwa, they were bent on breaking the jinx.

Medeama are not faced with any injury challenges. All their top stars from goalkeeper Muntari Tagoe to Paul Aidoo, Kwakwa, Malik Akowuah, Kwasi Donsu, Benjamin Bature are fit for this tie.

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Head to headThe last encounter between these outfit came in September 2015. Medeama overwhelmed Asante Kotoko 2-1 to win the FA Cup, so this game is a revenge or a repeat of what happened in the FA Cup.

These sides have met 17 times in the league: Kotoko have won 10, lost 2 and drawn 5 against Medeama, since 2007-08 league season. It is odd figure due to the playoff for the third place finish on the league log in the 2010-11 season staged in Accra.

Medeama are seeking their first league victory over Asante Kotoko under name Medeama sc. Moses Armah Parker, bought Kessben from Kwabena Kessie in the 2010-11 saeson, but paper works were concluded and the team were able to change their name to Medeama in the 2 half of the season. It was during the first round of the 2010-11 season that the team still called Kessben at the time stunned Kotoko by 1-0 in Kumasi, thanks to Richard Mpong, which was their last league victory over the Porcupine warriors. In the 2 round when the club were renamed Medeama SC,Kotoko avenged the first round home loss, when Ahmed Toure struck the only goal for his new side.

In Kumasi, the 23 times, league champions have won 4, drawn 3 and lost 1 against Medeama.

The home and away ties between these sides ended in draws: 1-1 in Kumasi in the first round and a goalless in the return fixture at Tarkwa.

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The rivalry between the Porcupine Warriors and Medeama sc increased last three seasons, after the hosts damaged the bus of Medeama, following a goalless draw in Kumasi and the Tarkwa based side retaliated last season when a group of thugs, who happen to be the body guard of Moses Parker, the President of Medeama were accused of beating the National Circles chairman of Asante Kotoko at Tarkwa. The supporters of Kotoko swore to hit back at Medeama when they visit, but talks are underway to calm them down.

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