Vipers and Villa will renew their rivalry tonight when they face off in the quarterfinals of the 2023/24 Stanbic Uganda Cup at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende.
Kick-off is set for 7pm, with the winner set to book a spot in this year’s semi-finals.
The clash brings together two of Uganda’s most decorated football clubs, who have already met twice this season in the Uganda Premier League.
Vipers claimed a 2-1 victory at Kitende in the first leg, while SC Villa responded with a narrow 1-0 win at Muteesa II Stadium, Wankulukuku in the return fixture.
To reach this stage, Vipers eased past Blacks Power FC with a 3-0 win in the Round of 16, thanks to goals from Yunus Ssentamu, Pedro Sukuya, and defender Livingstone Mulondo.
SC Villa secured their quarterfinal berth with a 1-0 away win against Lugazi FC, with Reagan Mpande netting the decisive goal in Najjembe.
Both teams come into the encounter with relatively stable squads. Vipers have no fresh injury concerns except for Enock Luyima, who picked up a knock in their recent match against NEC.
SC Villa are still without long-term absentees Ronald Ssekiganda and Cyrus Kibande, but report no new fitness worries.
The Venoms are aiming to add a fifth Stanbic Uganda Cup title to their collection, having last lifted the trophy in the 2022/23 season. SC Villa, who last won the tournament in 2015, boast a record nine titles, secured in 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2009, and 2015.
The winner of tonight’s showdown will join KCCA and Kitara in the semi-finals. The final slot will be decided tomorrow when Police take on Kataka at Kavumba Recreation Grounds.
