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The week ahead: round 10

Wednesday

Albirex Niigata (Singapore) v Liaoning Guangyuan at Jurong East Stadium

The White Swans’s aforementioned win over the Super Reds was also incidentally their biggest win in the S.League since the club made its debut in 2004. After a sluggish start to the season, Albirex are sitting in fifth and are on a six-match unbeaten run in the league. The Awesome Foursome of Genji Nakamura, Eiichiro Ozaki, Akira Takase and Tetsuya Okayama will be the main attacking threat from Hiraoki Hiraoka’s men. But Liaoning Guangyuan are a different kettle of fish altogether compared to the Koreans and the many ex-Sinchi personnel in the Liaoning camp will be familiar with the physical – and at times, bordering on spiteful – encounters with the Japanese side. Liaoning coach Ding Zhe will have to make do without the services of Li Zheng, Tong Di and Zheng Haifeng for the trip to the Jurong East Stadium as all three are suspended.



Thursday

Gombak United v Balestier Khalsa at Jurong West Stadium

Nor Azli Yusoff sits this one out after his red card at the Tampines Stadium on Sunday. Salim Moin’s side were more than a handful for the Stags, especially their forward line who were causing defeneive headaches for Sead Muratovic and Shariff Abdul Samat all night. Rezal Hassan denied Ruhaizad Ismail's spot kick in stoppage time but despite their 1-0 loss, the Bulls remain in fourth place with 14 points from nine matches.

The Tigers slip down to ninth after last Thursday’s 3-1 loss against Home United at the Toa Payoh Stadium. Home (the Toa Payoh Stadium, not the club) does not seem quite where the heart is, as far as the Tigers are concerned, at this stage of the season. Their record away from home of two wins from four matches is actually pretty decent. Which means you could easily back them to come away with a good result from the Jurong West Stadium on Wednesday, although it would be interesting to see how they would cope with Gombak’s African connection.

Thursday

Sengkang Punggol v Tampines Rovers at Hougang Stadium

The hosts go into this match with nine points from as many matches. Sengkang Punggol have actually scored more goals than the four teams above them in the table but it has been their second half defensive displays which have been disappointing. Consider this: they let a two-goal second half lead slip against Woodlands in the 3-2 loss on 17 April and that injury-time equaliser to the Super Reds twelve days later. You’d back the Dolphins to score against most teams, but you’d also fancy them letting in a few at the other end too.

With a place in the last eight of the AFC Cup secure, these are happy days for high-flying Tampines Rovers, who sit in third at the start of the week. The Stags started their last match without Noh Alam Shah and Ridhuan Muhammad but there was a welcome return for the player who last appeared in a Tampines shirt in February: Sead Muratovic. No doubt the Serbian will be given time to work his way back to full fitness but even the man himself has admitted the enormous effort he will have to put in to dislodge his very able replacement in the centre of defence, Shariff Abdul Samat. Santi Chaiyaphuak is suspended after his sending-off against Gombak United on Sunday.

Friday Night Football

Home United v Singapore Armed Forces FC at Jalan Besar Stadium

In what is being billed as the biggest match of the season so far, we have the battle between the top two teams in the S.League. Both Home and SAFFC came through with relatively straightforward wins against Balestier Khalsa and the Young Lions respectively last week and will want to put daylight themselves and the chasing pack early in the campaign.

With seven goals between them already, Home’s new central midfield pairing of Shahril Ishak and Shi Jiayi have wasted little time endearing themselves to the Protectors faithful. Splashing the cash on additions in the off-season is already looking a wise move with Home dropping only five points from nine matches. Their opponents on Friday, meanwhile, are top only on goal difference which is surely down to the goals of the hottest player in the league at the moment, Aleksandar Duric. The 37-year-old forward has already scored twelve in nine matches. His total for the whole of last season was 19.

Sunday

Young Lions v Geylang United at Jalan Besar Stadium

Hariss Harun created his bit of history last Saturday by becoming the youngest goalscorer in the S.League. But it all ended pear-shaped for the Young Lions as they went down 3-1 to SAFFC at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium. V Sundramoorthy’s side has had a stop-start sort of season but with three home wins already this season, you’d back them against a solid albeit unspectacular Geylang outfit.

The Eagles took their lead in their last two league matches against Albirex Niigata (S) and Woodlands Wellington but only managed to grab two points from those matches. Syed Thaha will serve the second of his two match suspension after his red card at the Jurong East Stadium, which could mean an extended run in the first team for the Korean midfielder Bae Jin Soo. Geylang have not won in their two previous visits to the Jalan Besar Stadium this season.

Teams	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
Singapore Armed Forces FC	9	7	1	1	29	8	21	22
Home United FC	9	7	1	1	21	7	14	22
Tampines Rovers FC	9	7	0	2	20	10	10	21
Gombak United FC	9	4	2	3	15	11	4	14
Albirex Niigata FC (S)	9	3	3	3	15	12	3	12
Woodlands Wellington FC	9	3	3	3	12	17	-5	12
Geylang United FC	9	3	2	4	12	13	-1	11
Young Lions	9	3	2	4	11	13	-2	11
Balestier Khalsa FC	9	3	2	4	13	16	-3	11
Sengkang Punggol FC	9	2	3	4	14	16	-2	9
Korean Super Reds FC	9	1	1	7	6	31	-25	4
Liaoning Guangyuan FC	9	1	0	8	11	25	-14	3

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