DEFENDING league champions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, without any doubt, will be the cynosure of all eyes today as the Onetouch premiership bounces back after a one-week break.

The break in action, the football authorities said, was to afford the national Under-23 side, Black Meteors, regroup for a cagey Olympic Games qualifier against their Burkinabe counterparts. That mid-week assignment is slated for Ouagadougou, next Wednesday.

Perhaps, the Ouagadougou game can hold on for now — while action is switched to domestic grounds.

Indeed, Kotoko’s present performance in the league is anything but impressive and as they engage resurgent Power FC at the Robert Mensah Stadium at Cape Coast this afternoon, the Porcupine Warriors will stage a desperate search for the missing ‘crankshaft’ to power home the maximum points.

The club has remained winless in its last four competitive games of which a barren result with Liberty Professionals was even accepted as a huge consolation. Certainly, the great club has hit a bad patch.

It might have come as great relief, when the Asanteman representation took advantage of the one-week break in the league to beat former premier side B.A. United in a friendly over the weekend. Newly signed Emmanuel Osei Kufuor fetched the solitary goal — a feat the witty veteran has promised to repeat this afternoon.

Maybe, cautious optimism are the words Kotoko must be gazing deeply at as they slot it out with a Power FC side who continues to upset the apple-cart since the start of the second round.

Led by remorseless striker, Francis Cofie, the revitalised Power armada have so far ‘electrocuted’ Berekum Arsenal (3-0), Liberty (2-1) and Accra Hearts of Oak (2-1) in their stirring fight-back to beat the drop. They cannot be taken for granted and Kotoko must better be on the qui vive.

At the Tema Stadium, Hearts are favoured to tighten their grip on the top ladder when they welcome the ‘Jewel of the North’ — RTU — whose away performance leaves much to be desired.

In other engagements, Bofoakwa Tano dare impressive Liberty at the Dansoman Carl Reindorf Park; King Faisal play Tema Youth; Accra Great Olympics storm Kpando as guests of Heart of Lions; All Blacks clash with Sekondi Hasaacas at Swedru with Arsenal hosting Gomoah Fetteh Feyenoord at Berekum.

The Ashgold – Real Sportive tie slated for Tema has been rescheduled to February 7 in view of the miners CAF Champions League assignment in Equatorial Guinea.

Times