Mighty Wanderers’ technical panel members and others who travelled with the team to Lilongwe to play against Blue Eagles were heard murmuring about their chances of winning the league. “We only have to beat FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, then we can’t see anyone stopping us from winning it this season.”
The members’ sentiment was rooted in the current standings and the toughness of the fixtures of the two teams in comparison. It’s quite simple for the Nomads: beat Bullets—completing their first double over their neighbours for the first time since 2011—then beat any team coming after, and they will be crowned champions of the 2025 TNM Super League, a title they haven’t won since 2017.
There is no doubt that the forthcoming Blantyre derby between FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers is not the title decider, but it carries significant weight for both teams’ title chances.
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Bullets are heading into the weekend’s crucial game at the top of the standings with 49 points from 20 games—the most they have collected at this stage in the past five years. They have a four-point cushion over second-placed Mighty Wanderers, who have played 19 games. A win for Wanderers in the derby will mean they will be just a point behind Bullets after playing a game fewer.
It is quite obvious that both coaches will be labouring for a sense of relief—should Bullets win the derby, they will be seven points ahead of Wanderers after playing a game more, which grants them at least a four-point gap.
Wanderers and Bullets this season have produced performances that perfectly personify the qualities their coaches would want to instil before the start of the season. The Nomads are yet to taste the bitterness of defeat in a league game this season, while Bullets have tasted defeat three times.
However, the points collection, total number of goals scored and conceded have surged in Bullets’ favour, while for Wanderers, they only have a slight dip in the number of goals scored, but the other parameters have improved this year compared to their previous six seasons.
But at this point of the season, Bullets have already played Silver Strikers twice, Mafco FC twice, Dedza Dynamos, Chitipa United and Songwe Border FC.
Mighty Wanderers have already played twice against Blue Eagles, Dedza Dynamos, Creck Sporting and MAFCO.
“It’s too early to call this one [Blantyre Derby] a title decider. There is still a long way to go,” Mponda told reporters during the pre-match press conference.
“We still have to travel to Karonga [United], Blue Eagles and Creck Sporting [in Lilongwe]. This game [against Wanderers] is not a title decider, but it is an important game which we must play and win.
“Wanderers are a confident team which is unbeaten so far in the league. They won in the first round and that gives them confidence [in this game]. But this time I can say with confidence that we are ready for the game against Wanderers.”
After playing against Wanderers, Bullets will have nine games remaining—six away games against Kamuzu Barracks, Blue Eagles, Karonga United, Creck Sporting, Moyale Barracks and Mighty Tigers, and three home games against Civil Service United, Mzuzu City Hammers and Ekhaya FC.
The People’s Team haven’t had easy rides on the road against the remaining teams. Bullets first visited Karonga United in 2014 and recorded a narrow 1-0 win. In 2016, they suffered a narrow loss at Mzuzu Stadium courtesy of Hygien Mwendepeka’s free-kick.
In 2018, Bullets collected a point against Karonga after a barren draw away, while in 2019 they recorded a slender 1-0 win. In the 2020/21 season, Bullets lost to Karonga United 1-0, while in 2022 they returned home with a point after a 0-0 draw. In 2023, Bullets beat Karonga United 2-0, but they lost 2-1 in their most recent visit to Karonga.
In the first round this season, Karonga United came from 3-1 down to level matters at 3-3 and took away a point from Blantyre.
Against Blue Eagles, Bullets haven’t won in their last two visits to Area 30 and came away with a point in each game after draws. In the 2020-21 season, Bullets beat Blue Eagles 1-0 and lost 2-1 in 2019. In 2018, Bullets won 1-0 against Eagles at Nankhaka.
Against Moyale, Bullets won 2-0 against Moyale Barracks in 2019, lost 1-0 in the 2020/21 season, won 2-1 in 2022, won 3-2 in 2023 and played to a 0-0 draw in 2024 in away games.
Against Kamuzu Barracks, Bullets lost 1-0 in 2019. In 2020/21, Bullets hammered KB 3-0. In 2022 they won 1-0, in 2023 they played a 0-0 draw and in 2024 they played another 0-0 draw.
After playing Bullets, the Nomads will have 10 games remaining, seven at home and away matches against struggling Mzuzu City Hammers, Chitipa United and Silver Strikers.
Against Chitipa United, Mighty Wanderers have never lost away to them since 2017, when they shared the spoils after a 0-0 draw. In 2019, the game also ended 0-0. In 2020/21, the Nomads recorded their first win on the road against Chitipa with a 2-0 victory. In 2023 they shared the spoils and in 2024, Wanderers beat Chitipa 2-1.
Against Silver Strikers, in 2019, Wanderers earned a point at Silver after a 0-0 draw. In the 2020/21 season, Wanderers recorded a 1-0 win. In 2022, Wanderers were beaten 2-1, in 2023 they were beaten 1-0 and in 2024 they were beaten 2-0.
Against Mzuzu City Hammers, Wanderers have won four of their last five away matches with an identical scoreline of 2-1, with only last year’s meeting as an exception when Hammers stunned them by two goals to nil.
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