Football/Division 1: JS Kabylie close to Championship win while relegation threaten several lagging teams

The JS Kabylie football squad who tops the overall standings with a 7 point lead over its closest rivals, ASO Chelf and ES Setif, is set to clinch the national first division championship this season.

The JS Kabylie football squad who tops the overall standings with a 7 point lead over  its closest rivals, ASO Chelf and ES Setif, is set to clinch the national first division championship this season.

In so doing, the Kabyle team has just to defeat at home on Monday visiting ASO Chlef but the outcome of this crucial match is still anybodyes guess.  This “make or break confrontation” is widely expected to be most thrilling.

For their part, the players of ES Setif will make a trip to Algiers for a hot confrontation versus USM Algiers who have been going downhill over the past few weeks with notably, a scathing setback versus NAHD Hussein Dey in a cup qualifier last week.

The squad of MC Algiers for their part, who are also in the doldrums this season with a lacklustre performance on the pitch, will be pitted against a tough local Saida team who are eager to snatch more points to upgrade their ranking in the standings.

Relegation also looms large for several lagging teams like MC Oran, CABBA Bordj Bou Arreridj, OM Ruisseau and WAT Tlemcen who should pull out all the stops, before it is too late, in the hope of ensuring their survival in the first division.