Match Preview:- St George Vs Dedebit

Ethiopian Premier League 12th week postponed match will be held tomorrow. EPL 12th week match, the Ethiopian football federation has postponed, between St George and Dedebit will be held tomorrow (Sunday) with kick-off 4:00pm.

St George and Dedebit 2016/17 season meetings!

They had their 2016/17 EPL season 1st round clash on Sunday, November 20, 2016. This match was the season's 2nd week match which St George won by 2-0. On this match, Mintesinot Adane was the opening goal scorer at the 23rd min. It was a header which was returned from Natnael Zeleke's header after Behailu Assefa Crossed it from around the right  side of the pitch. And at the 45th min Adane Girma scored the 2nd goal, Behailu Assefa's cross from a corner kick.

Their 2nd round match of 2016/17 EPL season was on Saturday, March 04, 2017. The Horsemen repeated the 1st round victory over Dedebit at Addis Ababa stadium which ended 3-2. Salhadin Seid let St George lead when he scored the ball Prince Severniho minused at the 16th min. And at the 31st min Mintesinot Adane scored a header from Behailu Assefa's cross to make the lead by 2-0. And at the 50th min, Salhadin Seid scored the 3rd goal when the goal post deflected Salhadin Bargecho's header from Behailu Assefa's free kick cross. 

Dedebit tried to get back to the game by scoring from behind. They were able to narrow the difference by Getaneh Kebede's 70th min free kick goal and 72nd own goal by Abebaw Butako. But the match ended with St George 3-2 Dedebit. 

Current season numbers of these teams.

St George had 13 matches in this season so far winning 5, drawing 7 and losing 1. Dedebit on the other hand, played 13 matches winning 8, drawing 4 and losing 1. Based on this, Dedebit is 1st on the Premier League table collecting 28 pts and St George is 4th with 22 pts.

Statistics of Dedebit's matches at Addis Ababa stadium. 

Dedebit had 9 premier league matches at Addis Ababa stadium in this season. They were able to win 6 of these matches, drawing in 2 and losing the rest. Dedebit lost only one match in 2017/18 season. Hence, this match will be between two clubs who lost only once so far.

Here are the clubs Dedebit won at Addis Ababa Stadium. Hawassa Kenem by 2-1, Sidama Bunna by 5-2, Ethio Electric by 3-1, Ethiopia Coffee by 1-0, Wewalo Adigrat University by 4-1 and Mekelakeya by 4-0 are the teams. The 2 draws Dedebit had at Addis Ababa stadium were with Wolayita Dicha and Fasil Kenema with the same result 0-0, without scoring or conceding. The match this club it lost at home was against Jimma Abba Jifar by 2-1. Dedebit in all the matches it played at Addis Ababa stadium scored a total of 20 goals and conceded 7.

Dedebit had 4 away matches in this season winning 2 and losing 2. It was from Mekelle Kenema by 2-0 and Arbaminch Kenema by 2-1 that it got a win out of its away trips. And the draws were against Adama Kenema and Diredawa Kenema, both with 0-0. Dedebit scored a total of 4 goals and conceded 1 in the 4 away matches.

St George scored 16 goals in all the 13 matches it played and conceded 6. Dedebit on the other hand, scored 24 goals and conceded 8 in 13 matches. St George scored average of 1.23 goals per game and Dedebit scored 1.85 goals. St George conceded 0.46 goals per game and Dedebit did 0.61.

Dedebit's Game Plan!

Coach Nigussie Desta's collection, although was drawing much at the beginning of the season, got back to winning track so fast. This can be proved by the fact that they won 7 out of their last 8 matches.

This match will be a fight among clubs with tough striking front and strong defense. 14 goals out of 24 Dedebit scored were by 2 players. Even though Getaneh Kebede, who has the 9 goals in his name is going to miss this because of a disciplinary ban, the other key wing striker Abel Yalew will be part of this game. On this aspect, St George's defense conceded only 6 goals in the past 13 matches.

Dedebit could not make a team to challenge St George in the past years. It lost on its encounters with St George consecutively. But it is not expected coach Nigussie Desta's team will give in easily. And the winning spirit it has from the recent matches will make it a strong contender on the match. Besides, St George's under-performance lately leads to the assumption Dedebit will be a strong challenger. Coach Nigussie Desta whom a 3 month ban was laid on by Ethiopian football federation have been bringing 4-3-3 formation on the pitch.

Dedebit has made changes due to injuries and bans on the line up it had with the 4-3-3 formation. The following is the line up Dedebit had when they won Mekelakeya by 4-0.

Goalkeeper:- Amarah Climont

Defenders:- Seyoum Tesfaye, Desta Demu, Kulibali Kedir, Birhanu Bogale

Midfielders:- Yeabsira Tesfaye, Asrat Megersa, Fasika Asfaw

Strikers:- Shimeket Gugsa, Akwer Chamo, Efrem Ashamo

Dedebit may make changes of their players due to injuries for the game against St George. There is a chance that Abel Yalew coming back and play a center forward as in the last match Birhanu Bogale replaced Solomon Habte, who was playing on the left wing in the past weeks. And we observed Dedebit who was in 4-3-3 on the match against Mekelakeya, playing Fasika Asfaw instead of the attacking midfielder Abel Endale.

In general, Dedebit spent the past weeks in 4-3-3 formation. When Dedebit makes formation change, it goes to a direct 4-4-2 one. This happens if the game doesn't have any goals and when Dedebit wants to score. When Nigussie Desta decides a 4-4-2 instead of 4-3-3, he takes out one of the 2 attacking midfielders, usually Abel Endale, and brings in Efrem Ashamo. Then Abel Yalew pairs up with Getaneh Kebede at the front. Then they play with 2 strikers changing the formation as such. 

  

Dedebit is not a team that tries to take possession and play building up the ball. It tries to play direct balls and the players in the upper half of the pitch are ones who take advantage of opponents' mistakes well. Dedebit do not let the ball for long on their side of the pitch. They try to get in to opponents' half with fast passes. After getting in to opponents' field with this, the balls hit the wing to be centered to the box. 

With this game plan, it uses the right side of the pitch for majority of the time. Seyoum Tesfaye and Shimeket Gugsa involve in the attacking process deeply on the right side. On this movement, the left wing striker Abel Yalew narrows and gets in to the penalty box. This lets Dedebit have 2-3 players in the box. This repeatedly makes 2 opponent center backs fall under 2 Dedebit strikers' pressure.

Dedebit's action on the left wing of the field is less in relative terms. This is as a result of the left wing defenders remaining on their position to keep balance of the defense. For this, the left defender Solomon Habte/ Birhanu Bogale stays there to make the number of defenders 3.

Dedebit tries to pull opponent defenders to the half line. This helps them use the speed of their 3 players upfront. Especially, if they score one goal, they don't have much problem creating goal opportunities to score more. When an opponent team concedes a goal, its defenders approach the midfield to play pressing. This process makes the gap between the defenders and the goalkeeper wide. And this kind of gap is very suitable for Dedebit. 

Injuries in St George house!

It is only Natnael Zeleke who has injury at the time. We heard all the players other than him are ready for this match.

We will win,

We have full faith in Sanjaw!