Harambee Stars will face Ethiopia for the second time in four days knowing that a win will improve their chances of making it to the 2019 Afcon finals.
In the first leg played at Bahir Dar Stadium, Kenya withstood a tough second half surge by the home side pushed on by a full-to-capacity stadium to pick up a vital point, in a 0-0 draw, that pushed them closer to Cameroon.
Caf is yet to decide whether or not results picked by teams against Sierra Leone – who are serving a Fifa ban – will stand in the road to qualification, reason why Kenya must win their remaining matches, starting with the fixture against the Walya Antelopes at home.
As it stands in Group F, Kenya leads with four points after two matches, with Ghana coming second with three points and Ethiopia completes the table with just a single point.
| Game | Kenya vs Ethiopia |
| Date | Sunday, October 14 |
| Time | 4:00pm Kenyan Time |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In Kenya, the game will be shown live on SuperSport.
| DSTV channel | Free-to-air channel |
|---|---|
| SuperSport 9 | NONE |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Missing players |
|---|---|
| Defender | David 'Calabar' Owino |
| Forward | Ayub Masika Timbe |
Kenya will once again do without the services of injured David ‘Calabar’ Owino but Joash Onyango is available for selection after serving his one match ban, but it is unlikely that the coach will tamper with the defense. It is the last match that Ayub Timbe will miss, meaning he will be available for the Ghana match.
Victor Wanyama and Brian Mandela are however, available for selection.
Probable Kenya XI: Matasi, Otieno, Omar, Mohammed, Mandela, Odhiambo, Wanyama, Johanna, Were, Kahata and Olunga.
| Position | Missing player |
|---|---|
| None | None |
Ethiopia head coach Abraham Mebrahtu is happy with the fact that most of his players are available for selection. It is unlikely that he will make any changes from the side that drew 0-0 at home.
Probable Ethiopia XI: Asefa, Mohammed, Tamene, Tesfaye, Reshid, Bekele, Panom, Mesfin, Kebede, Hetosa and Belay.
Match Preview
Goal Kenya.
The two teams will be meeting for the 44th time in all competitions. The Walya Antelopes have won eighteen, lost fourteen times and drawn the remaining eleven games. It will be interesting to see, who wins arguably the most important game in the history of the two teams.
Kenya leads Group F with four points, and a win will push their chances of sealing a spot in Afcon finals, with Ethiopia needing a miracle to qualify. As it stands, Ghana are second on the log with three points following their 5-0 win against the Walya Antelopes, who are now placed bottom of the table with a single point.
Ethiopia is yet to score a goal in the two Afcon matches played, against Ghana and Kenya respectively. They have however, conceded five and to get to the first position they will have to put five past Kenya.
Since 2010, Kenya and Ethiopia have faced each other seven times in all competitions, friendly matches excluded. Interestingly, both sides have won twice and drawn the remaining three games. The last time Kenya won against the Walya Antelopes was in 2013; the last three matches have ended in an identical 0-0 draw, with Ethiopia winning the other game by a two goal margin.
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