August 13, 2025

The SPL season finally starts in a few days with the Community Shield, and just like most teams in the SPL, the SailorFanTalk squad has had a bit of a revamp too, with several writers, editors, and interviewers coming onboard. To kick off the SPL season, I invited each of our new writers to weigh in with their own SPL preview, including a short writeup discussing each team and their end-of-season SPL table prediction. Let’s hear what Ernest, Joseph Chin, Bryan, and Reuben have to say! Ernest The 25/26 season will witness many firsts, none more prominent than the foreigner matchday quota being increased to 7. This leaves 4 starting spots for our local players, and it remains to be seen how this change will impact the league and National Team set up. That being said, taking a look at how the squads are shaping up, we can make an educated guess as to how the season will pan out. Below are my thoughts, in the order of my predicted 25/26 table: 1st: Lion City Sailors FC No surprises here. The team with the most resources are likely to run away with the title, perhaps with an even bigger gap to the nearest challenger. The marquee signing on everyone’s radar is Anderson Lopes. His CV trumps most, having been the top scorer in J1 for the past 2 seasons and helping Yokohama F. Marinos to reach the 2024 ACL final. He would likely repeat his scoring antics in Singapore, but I do not foresee Tomoyuki Doi’s frankly ridiculous golden boot record being broken any time soon. LCS are less reliant on a focal centre forward to score goals, and we could well see Lopes deployed on the wings at times (with a certain Maxime Lestienne leaving in January as things stand). He can also rotate with Lennart and Shawal, more than capable of wrecking havoc in the league. We are competing on multiple fronts and minutes will inevitably have to be shared. The signing that really excites me is Tsiy Ndenge. It is acknowledged that football games are won and lost in the midfield. With Ndenge’s arrival, we have secured a player profile that promises to be game-changing. A quick google search of his name will pull up YouTube highlight reels of his time at Grasshopper Club Zurich. Capable of performing multiple roles, the German has played down Pogba comparisons. I am sure we will be proud of having our very own Ndenge. LCS should aim to be the best defence in the league again, and let our attacking talents do their thing. An expected professional job, nothing less. 2nd: Geylang International FC No Doi, no problem. Despite losing their scoring talisman, Geylang have strengthened on multiple fronts, and will likely benefit from their Eastern rivals having a transitional year. Noor Ali’s team have gone from strength to strength, finishing a respectable 3rd last season, something that has not been achieved by the club for some time now. The reason I see them pipping Tampines this year? The Eagles have chosen to recruit tried-and-tested SPL stalwarts who are upgrades on their previous personnel (bar the magnificent Doi). In comes Riku Fukashiro, Shodai Yokoyama, Kaisei Ogawa and Shuhei Hoshino. Sure, they are not capable of scoring 44 league goals each, but with the new foreigner rule in place the team should see an increase in quality on the pitch. Geylang will surely benefit from a shorter season, no continental nor regional football to contend with. Their thin squad will likely survive the season and mark an improvement on last season. 3rd: BG Tampines Rovers FC Perhaps I’m bold for predicting a bronze medal for Tampines, which essentially constitutes another trophyless season for them. Yes, LCS are sweeping the domestic treble. But why third? Transitions rarely go well at the start, and losing their head coach and marquee foreigners will hurt immediately. Even the most fervent of haters will acknowledge Gavin Lee is one of Singapore’s best coaches. Reappointing Akbar Nawas seems to be taking a few steps backward. Add to the unsavoury mix the foreign core being dismantled and I foresee a long season ahead for the Stags. Tampines really trailed off during the new year, and that was after their unceremonious ACL2 elimination. With the added distraction of the ACC Club Championship –  affectionately known as the Shopee Cup, this new squad will likely struggle to perform right out the blocks. Is my bias speaking against them? Probably. But logic dictates fundamental changes will take some getting used to, and by the time this happens the other 2 clubs would have pulled clear. Trent Buhagiar would be a familiar name to A-League observers, and will definitely add a new dimension to their fresh attack with his pace and dynamism. Looking elsewhere, they have recruited from the Japanese football ecosystem to plug the gaps left by Seia, Kyoga and Milos. Quality players they might be and become, but the multitude of factors mentioned above will contribute to their slight regression this year. 4th: Albirex Niigata (S) It was not too long ago that the Japanese feeder club dominated Singaporean football. Then they went “local” and went through a slump and drop in standards, even culminating in the dismissal of the popular Kazuaki Yoshinaga. It has been an entire season since, the dust has settled, and the foreign outfit has learnt the effects of parity.  The additional foreign starting spot next season should provide a welcome boost to the six-time SPL champions, who have once again recruited from Japanese outfits. This formula has worked wonders for them throughout their prolific stint in Singaporean football, and the White Swans seem to be one of the teams that would benefit most from the rule changes. A competitive Albirex can only be a good thing for the league. 5th: Tanjong Pagar United FC Disclaimer: this preview was written after Aaron Evans’ feature on Sports Minutes. He spoke of the Jaguars’ ambitions to finish second