Rivers United will on Wednesday at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, host second-place MFM in a rescheduled matchday 28 league encounter.
The home team recently ousted from the CAF Confederation Cup, have it all to do against a high flying MFM FC side that will aim to cut the five-point lead at the top of the table.
A major worry for Coach Stanley Eguma and his coaching crew asides from coming up against the division's top scorer Stephen Odey, is a constant inability of his forwards to find the back of the net this season, a situation which isn't unconnected to their relegation struggles which has seen them further sink down the table to 18th-place.
In the reverse fixture played in Lagos, MFM FC triumphed 2-1, but a repeat score line is highly unlikely against a Rivers United team, who despite their well-documented struggles this season, remain unbeaten at home.
Rivers United must have done their homework, knowing fully well that a win buys them some time outside the bottom four, which could potentially see them rise to 15th-place, while any other outcome asides maximum points sees them remain in the drop zone.
Given the telepathic understanding between MFM FC duo Sikiru Olatunbosun and Odey, Eguma should do well to deploy the excellent positional play and experience of Festus Austine and Markson Ojobo, to cut out any silly mistakes at the back which might be capitalised on by either prolific pair.