The Flames are expected to arrive in Calabar on Thursday from Ghana where they will fly to from Gaborone. After its controversial claims of Calabar being an unsafe city to play in, the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has now declared its faith in the city having sent an advance party to visit Nigeria.

A statement released by FAM general secretary Sugzo Nyirenda praised the reception given the Malawian delegation in both Abuja and Calabar by the Nigeria Football Federation. “NFF welcomed the [visiting delegation] in Abuja as well as Calabar. They inspected some of the hotels in Calabar and they have settled for the Dannic Hotel. The hotel is new and resembles the Golden Peacock Hotel in Lilongwe and it is generally good,” Nyirenda was quoted by Nyasatimes.com.

Nigeria (on nine points) and Malawi are separated by two points going into the final Group F games this weekend with both sides still in with a chance to qualify for the play off stage. The Super Eagles need at least a draw in Saturday’s game while the Flames need nothing short of a win to brighten their chances of qualifying for their first World Cup. Kenya host Namibia in the group’s classification game also on Saturday. Nigeria vs Malawi will kick off at 4pm WAT. Join Goal for live match commentary.