The Phobians go into this game seeking to protect their unbeaten away record. They lost their last league game 0-1 to Liberty Professionals at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, their third home loss of the season.
Dreams FC bounced back to winning ways with a slim 1-0 away win at Obuasi against New Edubiase United after a run of poor results that included embarrassing defeats to Chelsea and Aduana Stars at Berekum and Dormaa respectively.
Team News:
Soulama Abdoulaye is on schedule to return from national duty with Burkina Faso.
Thomas Abbey, Richard Yamoah, and Owusu Bempah are back on track having fully recovered from their respective injuries for the Phobians. Isaac Oduro remains out but he is also recuperating well.
Match Preview:
Accra Hearts of Oak will play as guests of Dreams FC on Sunday as the first round of the 2016 Ghana Premier League (GPL) season comes to an end this weekend.
The half-term report so far makes good reading for the Phobians, but, they will be hoping to end the halfway stage of the league on top of the leading pack.
Hearts have been the most impressive away performers in the first round of the season, having won in Tarkwa (Medeama 2-0), Tema (Inter Allies 3-2), Obuasi (AshGold 2-1), and Berekum (Chelsea 1-0), and picked up solitary points in Cape Coast (Ebusua Dwarfs 0-0), Techiman (Techiman City 0-0), Dormaa (Aduana Stars 1-1).
Dreams FC, after an impressive start, have been awoken from their dream start and are now living the true realities of the league.
They have chalked some memorable victories in this, their debut campaign with the biggest yet-so-far being accounting for the scalps of defending league champions AshGold in Obuasi on Matchday Seven.
And they will be coming all out to add the Phobians to their list of casualties just before the end of the first round.
At home, Dreams FC has won three of their seven league encounters, drawing three and losing one. Their defeat to Asante Kotoko remains the only time they failed to pick a point at home, but they have been very charitable at home in recent times.
They have let leads slip through their fingers against Liberty Professionals and Medeama SC in back-to-back home games, failing to take advantage of scoring first in all those games.
Hearts, on the other hand, have got a solid record on the road, holding the enviable record as being the only side not to lose a game on the road. They will be aiming to keep that record intact when they meet Dreams FC on Sunday.
Coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi’s side has only conceded once in the first half on their away trips. Emmanuel Akuoko’s headed strike was the first time the Hearts defense was breached on the road in the opening 45 minutes of a game.
But Hearts have shown mental toughness whenever the odds are stacked against them away from home. They were able to stage a remarkable comeback against Inter Allies in Tema in Matchday Five action, and that game has come to define how the team sets up and never gives up in away matches.
Match Facts:
This is the first time the two sides will meet in a competitive fixture. They met in a pre-season friendly just before the start of the season with Hearts beating Dreams FC 4 – 1 at the same venue.
GPL Matchday 15 Preview: Hearts of Oak Dare Dreams FC At Dawu
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