The 2018/2019 SportPesa Premier League gets underway this weekend as Kenyan football ushers in a transitional season that will see the topflight run from December 2018 to May 2019.
Champions Gor Mahia play Bandari in Mombasa, while Shield winners Kariobangi Sharks face a troubled AFC Leopards.
Sofapaka’s Melis Medo and Frank Ouna of KCB start their new jobs against Mt Kenya United and Kakamega Homeboyz respectively, while Paul Ogai is set to make his debut in the top tier with Western Stima.
Nation Sport presents the nine things to look out for this weekend.
1. Mwalala must make a statement
Gor Mahia visit Bandari for a tricky season opener at Mbaraki Stadium to face a side that ended their seven-month unbeaten run last season at the same venue.
Then, Gor coach Dylan Kerr cut an animated figure on the touchline, where he even had an altercation with his goalkeeper trainer Willis Ochieng’.
Under their tutelage of Bernard Mwalala, Bandari only lost one match since he took over from Ken Odhiambo in mid-season.
The fact that the dockers finished a historic second last season, means that Mwalala will fancy going a notch higher and clinch the title having overseen a proper pre-season.
And he has it all mapped out.
“We want to win our first five matches before we plan for the rest of our fixtures,” said Mwalala, after a 2-1 win over Coastal Union in friendly in Tanga a fortnight ago.
The former Kenyan international has been busy in the transfer window going for talent that he knows very well. Brian Otieno, Abdallah Hamisi and Moses Mudavadi are some of his key acquisitions.
Add to the quality he had last season, Mwalala has all it takes to upset champions Gor Mahia on Saturday as he takes charge of his first full season at Bandari.
With K’Ogalo still nursing a hang-over from their Caf Champions League return leg against Malawi’s Big Bullets, they might struggle in humid conditions at Mombasa.
Gor is still a work in progress with most of their players struggling with fitness.
In his first season with Nzoia Sugar in the top-flight, Mwalala thrashed 2016 champions Tusker 5-2 on match-day one and he needs to make a similar statement for Bandari to get going.
2. Sharks can peel Leopards’ skin
After winning the Super Cup and proceeding to the next round of the Caf Confederation Cup, Kariobangi Sharks could not have wished for a better start to the season.
Coach William Muluya has kept the core of the team that won the SportPesa Shield last season only losing Pascal Ogweno and Bolton Omwenga.
Their replacements, Tom Teka and Nixon Omondi have been impressive. Upfront, the partnership of Sydney Lokale and George Abege is proving to be a lethal one.
The emergence of James Mazembe and the resurgence of Harrison Mwendwa has given a new dimension to the Shark attack especially in wide areas.
In three competitive matches, they’ve scored 10 goals and conceded only one. If that’s not worrying enough for AFC Leopards, they’ve kept two clean sheets – including a memorable one against Gor Mahia in the Super Cup.
Muluya has never lost in this fixture having drawn twice and won as many. He comes up against a disjointed Ingwe side, who just lost their new coach Nikola Kavazovic even before the league begins.
He was in the process of restructuring the team before his abrupt departure. Part of his restructuring saw Isaac Oduro moved to centre half from left back, while Whyvonne Isuza was relegated to the bench.
But they find themselves in a tricky situation with Tom Juma now in charge and the new system has barely taken shape.
With Sharks up and running, AFC Leopards with their woes unending makes good fodder for a thrashing.
3.Zoo begin life without Madoya
For the first time since they were promoted, Zoo will play at Kericho without Mike Madoya, Nicholas Kipkirui and Isaac Kipyegon.
The trio have become a key component of Zoo over the last two years as they found their feet in the topflight.
While Kipkirui and Kipyegon moved to Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards respectively, their goal machine Madoya joined Tusker. The diminutive midfielder scored 8 goals for Zoo in 2017 and 14 in 2018.
That tally meant that he was responsible for almost a third of Zoo’s goals last season.
It remains to be seen how quickly they adapt to life after Madoya’s exit and a tricky Nzoia Sugar could present a litmus test on Sunday.
Experienced players like Geoffrey Gichana, skipper Johnstone Ligare and the enterprising Danson Chetambe now have to step up.
4.Medo can show Mt Kenya what they are missing
Melis Medo begins work at his new club Sofapaka against his former employers Nakumatt – now Mt Kenya United.
He arrived in Kenya as a volunteer coach early this year, but helped Nakumatt escape relegation via the playoff.
His achievements at a financially struggling side caught the eye of Sofapaka who have since roped him as head coach. Inevitably, he has moved with his assistant Ben Omukuba as well as three players – Faina Jacobs, Tom Adwar and John Avire.
With a well-oiled Sofapaka side being sponsored by betting firm Betika, Medo has been tasked with restoring glory at the 2009 champions who finished fifth last season.
He griped about managing a demotivated side at Mt Kenya last season, but with a quality and financially stable outfit, the American can finally show how good he is.
5.How will Ogai fair on his debut?
Western Stima is back in the topflight after a one-year absence with the man who orchestrated their immediate return Paul Ogai set to make his KPL debut as a coach.
He took over a dwindling Stima side midseason and guided them to first place in the National Super League.
His debut will be against a Posta Rangers side that endured one of their worst seasons last term. They needed a draw away to Kakamega Homeboyz in their season-ender to be assured of safety.
Ogai is a firm believer in young players since his days at Palos and while he may want to continue with the same policy, he needs to be reminded that it has worked and backfired before in the KPL.
Kariobangi Sharks have excelled with that policy, while others like Nakuru All Stars, failed terribly.
An experienced Posta Rangers side could give him a true reflection of what to expect this season and if Ogai passes this test, he might have a good season.
6.Ouna needs to make investment count
After a three-year absence, KCB can finally dine with the big boys again. They have recruited well with experienced players like Bernard Mang’oli, Eston Esiye and Benson Amianda joining this transfer window.
Frank Ouna, who was relegated with Wazito last season, is the new head coach at KCB with Ezekiel Akwana and Elvis Ayany his assistants.
Ayany excelled where Leonard Saleh and John Kamau had failed by securing promotion and the investment in the squad this season shows KCB mean business.
A trip to Kakamega where Homeboyz awaits them is not what Ouna would have wished for in his first game, but he learnt with Wazito that grinding results on the road is key to survival.
For the first time in many years, KCB has gone beyond borders to sign quality foreign players and pressure is now on Ouna to deliver the return on investment.
7.Situma’s experience could determine Mathare United’s fate
Mathare United have once again beefed up their squad with amazing attacking talent notably the duo of James Kinyanjui and 2011 Player of the Year Kevin Kimani.
The duo will certainly provide more options for Francis Kimanzi, who held on to his star player Cliff Nyakeya.
Add Clifford Alwanga and Chrispin Oduor, the Slum Boys have one of the deadliest attack in the top tier. But scoring has never been the problem at Mathare, defending is.
Since Kimanzi returned to the club in 2016, Mathare have conceded 29, 36 and 45 goals respectively. This is a worrying statistic and the youthful defence at the club doesn’t make the situation any better.
With skipper George Owino set to be used sparingly this season and Samuel Olwande sidelined due to injury, a new look back four will be on duty against Chemelil Sugar on Saturday.
The onus will be on James Situma to provide leadership at the back and guide Kenya Under-23 internationals Johnstone Omurwa and David Owino.
Situma’s utility traits are certainly a big plus for Kimanzi since he can field him either in central defence or full back to find stability.
8.Vihiga United must force good start
Mike Mururi salvaged Vihiga United from going down in their first season. He took over the reins from Edward Manoah in June and guided Vihiga to safety with a convincing 2-0 win over Nakumatt on the last day of the 2018 season.
Barnabas Tiema, Jonathan Mugabi, Morven Otinya and Vitalis Okumu are some of the big names that Mururi dropped this transfer window as he seeks to inject fresh blood into his team.
Even as he integrates new faces, Mururi knows how important it is to win at home. That was their major undoing last season. They started the season with a 2-1 loss to Mathare United at Bukhungu and after losing the opener, things never steadied at Vihiga.
Again, they host Ulinzi Stars at the same venue for their first match and Mururi will hope for a win.
His previous top eight finishes while at Chemelil Sugar and Kakamega Homeboyz were hinged on a near perfect home performance and he will definitely want to replicate that at Vihiga United.
9.Agwanda can dream about Harambee Stars
Enock Agwanda’s return to his boyhood club Sony Sugar worked magic for him last season.
He not only rediscovered his form but he won two Player of the Month accolades for his efforts that steered the millers out of relegation.
His combative nature makes him one of the best forwards in the KPL. After scoring eight goals in 17 appearances, he has a perfect chance to enhance his reputation this season and return to the national team.
A decent return of at least 10 goals by midseason could catch the eye of Harambee Stars coach Sebastien Migne, who has started searching abroad for back up for Michael Olunga.
Jonah Ayunga and Allan Wanga have been tried by Migne, but still there is still room for a tireless worker and a fearless striker in the national team.
In Agwanda, you have both an accomplished finisher and a bully – a defender’s nightmare on a good day.
The road to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations starts on Sunday against Tusker for Agwanda. He needs to hit the road running and give Migne food for thought.