Dire Dawa vs Sidama Bunna Prediction: Both teams are expected to settle for a draw

At the Dire Dawa Stadium, Dire Dawa will play Sidama Bunna in a round 29 encounter of the Ethiopia Premier League. Both teams are coming off a league defeat and will hope for their luck here. How will this encounter end?

Dire Dawa are coming off a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Hadiya Hossana, and in this game, they hope to turn the tables. In the meantime, a look at this team’s last five games shows they picked two consecutive wins over St. George and Wolkite Kenema while they drew Adama City. However, in that same run of games, Dire Dawa lost 0-5 in a home game to Ethiopian Insurance. Dire Dawa will enter this game with 40 accumulated points from 28 matches, scoring 32 goals and conceding 35.

Defence Force defeated Sidama Bunna in their last league game, and in this one, they will look to turn the tables. In that encounter, Sidama Bunna conceded just one goal at the end of the first half, with Minyelu Wondimu putting Defence Force in the lead. However, a goal from Behailu Girma and a brace by Canaan Markneh saw their opponent score three in the second half, with Birhanu Bekele scoring a consolation goal for this side. In their last five games into this one, Sidama Bunna won just one, coming against Hambericho Durame, while they lost to Adama City and St George, and they drew Hawassa. In the league this season, Sidama Bunna have 34 points from 28 matches, positioning them 12th in the standings. 

In their last five meetings, Dire Dawa won two, while Sidama Bunna won one. However, two other encounters ended in draws. Dire Dawa scored seven goals in those matches, while Sidama Bunna scored five. 

The two teams have not been exceptional, and I do not see them pulling off any surprising performances. Dire Dawa had more luck in their last meetings, but their recent season performances contradicted what we could expect from them. I expect this one to be an open encounter, but I do not trust either team, and a draw could be a tangible result in a low-scoring encounter.