The second round of the Uganda Premier League 2023-2024 campaign gets underway today with record holders SC Villa hosting Maroons FC at the Muteesa II Stadium, Wankulukuku.

Two points separate the two sides with the visitors Maroon sitting in fourth place with 28 points, while Villa are fifth with 26 points from 15 matches each.

The first meeting inside Luzira Prison grounds in September ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

Both clubs have had a silent January transfer window with no new players added to their respective sides but they have managed to keep their best players who were targets for their rivals.

Local football fans are desperate and excited at the same time to see what their respective teams have to offer in the second round after the first-round served so many surprises.

The biggest of all was BUL FC, a Jinja-based side that gunned down all title favourites, KCCA, Villa and holders Vipers to finish top of the table with a three-point advantage over the Venoms in second place.

BUL’s title credentials are going to be under serious scrutiny from a rejuvenated Vipers who finished the first round so strong while for them, they had declined in form in the last two matches.

Another surprise package was Kitara, a newly promoted side from Hoima that finished third on the table having beaten Villa, Express, and KCCA.

KCCA, a team many predicted to dethrone Vipers for the title after their heavy recruitment in the summer that involved signing six foreign players and Portuguese tactician Sergio Traquil disappointed its fans and the board after it lost its opening straight league games.

What followed was the club board sacking the Portuguese after four months in charge and immediately replacing him with Jackson Magera.

The former Villa boss managed to bring happiness back to the Lugogo faithful when he emphatically beat Vipers 3-1 to help KCCA register its first win of the season in seven games before Abdullah Mubiru succeeded him as permanent coach.

Arua Hill that had established itself as the new face of football in West Nile after the relegation of regional giants Onduparaka to the FUFA Big League, experienced a tough outing where they lost 12 of their 15 matches and sit bottom of the league.

The Leopards’ misery was further witnessed when they showed up for their away fixture with Kitara in Masindi with only eight players with no substitutes and a coach on the bench. They were beaten 7-1 by the Royals.

Shortly after, Vipers poached their coach Charles Livinstone Mbabazi to succeed Brazilian Leonardo Neiva whom they had sacked after losing to BUL at Kitende, a result that ended their two-year home unbeaten run.

Arua Hill have shifted to Bombo military barracks ground as their home for the second round from Parid playgrounds in Adjumani, and appointed Sadiq Ssempiji as head coach.

But there are still doubts about their future after missing out on the second-round fixture, and many first-team players have also left the club.

Wakiso Giants, Wakiso Giants, Gaddafi, Busoga United, UPDF are the other teams that performed poorly in the first round and will need to double their efforts in this round to survive relegation.

Express too experienced a rough ride along the way but were quick to sack James Odoch and replace him with Alex Isabirye.

The domestic double-winning coach with Vipers revived the Red Eagles in a short period of time by winning four games out of six after his appointment.

Uganda Premier League

Today

SC Villa v Maroons

Tomorrow (Friday)

Mbarara City v Express

Gaddafi v URA

KCCA v BUL

Saturday

UPDF v Kitara

Sunday

Busoga Utd v NEC

Bright Stars v Wakiso Giants