Kenya Premier League side Gor Mahia FC will be out to salvage their dwindling prospects of retaining the league as they host AFC Leopards in Homa Bay County on Monday, June 2, 2025.

The highly billed 97th meeting between the two sides at the Raila Odinga Stadium, fresh from hosting the Maradaka Day celebrations, comes with its piece of history as the first time the derby is staged outside Nairobi in the Kenyan Premier League era.

The county is considered the cradle land of the mythical Luo legend, Gor Mahia, a revered sage and mystic who was born in Kanyamwa.

As is the norm with Kenya’s biggest football derby, the clash looks delicately poised. Gor Mahia seeks to claim the bragging rights at stake as they also seek to avoid a defeat that will seal Kenya Police’s inevitable coronation as new league champions.

Gor’s flickering hopes

In their quest, Zedekiah Zico Otieno, charges have their hands full, hoping to breathe more life into their flickering chances of defending their crown.

The side nonetheless has a backing of history and positive statistics in their favour. Gor boasts a superior record coming off a barren draw pitting the two sides in the season’s Mashemeji opener staged at Nyayo Stadium.

Before today’s second leg meeting of the 2024/25 season, Gor claimed a double over Ingwe in the last season tie, asserting dominance over their rival with 2-0 and 1-0 score lines.

 In the previous meetings pitting the two, Ingwe has managed only a single win in the past three seasons of the KPL league. The team’s last win came in May 2023 in a 2-1 victory.

The result came after a barren draw in the first-leg meeting, which remains the most recent time Leopards managed to limit Gor to a single point in the two derby outcomes.

Head to head

The 2022/23 season also saw K’Ogalo emerge as aggregate victors, edging Ingwe 1-0 before recording a 1-1 draw in the return leg.

With little burden of expectation placed on their shoulders, AFC is mulling the prospect of being the party poopers of  the rivalry by confirming Police coronation as the 2025 league champions by staging an upsetting victory in Homa Bay.

Fred Ambani, who was bullish of his long-standing unbeaten record in the Mashemeji derby, will hope the good tidings accompany him all the way to their rival’s base.

Skipper Cliffton Miheso laid down Ingwe’s plains targets ahead of the clash.

“Gor is a good side and is still in contention for the league. On our part, we are prepared and look forward to putting out a performance that will get us a result in the clash,” he said.