All eyes will be at Hougang Stadium this Thursday, with the visit of the Champions and league leaders Tampines Rovers come rolling into the Northeast.
Although on paper, it would be relatively simple to conclude that Tampines are the stronger team, however, it was the Cheetahs who stunned the Stags in the Singapore Cup in May, when they shocked the Stags 2-1 after being behind so early in the game.
However, the Cheetahs are on a three-game losing streak, and are in need to regain their confidence they had back in May, when they won five games out of seven in the league. Although the losing streak is bad in any kind of sports, however the three games that the Cheetahs had been defeated were all a solitary goal defeat.
The Cheetahs would need to be more confident in front of goal, with only nineteen goals scored in fifteen games. Mamadou Diallo, Hougang’s leading huntsmen only has four goals in the league to his name, and he might need all the confidence to score for this game, if the Cheetahs were to take anything for this game.
Tampines themselves are not having the best of form this season, their 4-1 win over Home United in their last game was their first win in five (second, if not for the points penalty they had for having fielded an ineligible player in the game). With the Cheetahs’ defence stubborn to be penetrated, the Stags frontline might find it difficult to conjure chances at their end.
The last league game at Clementi saw the Stags being held scoreless up till 70th minutes, with Alexander Duric scoring two goals in as many minutes and went away with a 3-0 win. However, they might find every reason to avenge their Singapore Cup defeat back in May and might want to go all out for this game. However, the Cheetahs are never an easy meat when it comes to turning losing streaks around.
