By Evans Oduor,

The absence of leading striker Jesse Were has affected the team’s attacking options with his replacement Clifford Alwanga failing to make an impression in their recent matches.

10- time champions Tusker will be looking to bounce back when they host relegation threatened Nairobi City Stars on Friday in a Sportpesa Premier League (SPL) early kick off tie slated at Nyayo National Stadium.

Kimanzi will pray for his front runners Kevin Kimani, Brian Osumba, Danson Kago and Noah Wafula will carry their scoring boots.

Both teams did not fair well in their last outing. Tusker blow out an opportunity to close the gap on 3rd place Sofapaka when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) while City Stars were handed a 3-1 drubbing by Gor Mahia at the Nyayo National Stadium.

City Stars key players to watch will be the twin striking duo of Jimmy Bageya and Gambian born Sanneh Ebrimah. Tusker beat City Stars 2-1 in their first leg encounter three months ago.

Tusker’s Emmanuel Ngam is suspended for this match after picking up five yellow cards.