Almaty aim to climb the table

Almaty will hope to build on last week’s performance as they face The Bananaskins in week 9 of Astro Leagues. However, they will have to do it without the services of the league’s top-scorer, Gav “goal machine” Jeffery, who was instrumental in last week’s display.


Gaffer Spratt is likely to revert back to the tried and tested 3-1-1 formation with Marco "The Magician" Machado playing up-top. Phil "The General" Smith will marshall the midfield. The defence will be comprised of Billy "O'Shea" Murphy, Dave "Rio" Smith, Mark "Vidic" Dawson and Ant "Neville" Spratt. Thankfully, Safehands Sweetnam returns to goal.

It will be important that Almaty beat The Bananaskins as it will ensure that they at least gain one place in the league table as the top two teams, City Ramblers and FC Miracle, face each other. The Bananaskins got off to a bright start to the season winning their first two games. They’ve lost their last two games but it would be unwise to judge them on those results as they were against the top two teams.