Author name: Eddy Hirono

That’s a sad title, isn’t it? Amazingly, despite missing our chance to go top last week, tonight presents another chance for our Sailors to do so. For that to happen, we’ll need to beat Geylang, and hope that somehow Tampines fails to take all three points when they face Hougang. The latter is highly unlikely, despite Hougang’s recent resurgence in form, but depressingly, I am going to predict that our Sailors won’t be able to pick up all three points against Geylang anyway. Let’s dive right into the preview. Lack of Rotation Costing Us Rotation is a word I have mentioned quite a few times this season in preview articles. Why I have been banging that drum repeatedly is because I feared that the fixture congestion coming up would lead to tired performances and worse, injuries. Of the 12 games played in the league so far, all 12 have seen Maxime Lestienne starting. I know he’s our biggest star, and he leads the Sailors both in goals and assists, but surely we can’t keep playing him and still expect his performances to be top-notch week in week out? To make things worse, sometimes we find ourselves in a comfortable lead, and still persist in leaving him on the pitch – as we did for the entirety of the 7-1 thrashing of Hougang. Can we not trust our bench options earlier on in games when we are already comfortably leading? Can we consider leaving him out of the team if we’re playing Tanjong Pagar for example? What does it say about us if we cannot be confident of beating Tanjong Pagar without Maxime in the side? Questions for us to think about. To make matters worse, not trusting your bench players also then means that when they do need to step up and contribute, they lack rhythm. When Anu and Adam Swandi come on nowadays, I don’t feel they are anything like what I remember of them as players. Is it a physical issue? Mental issue? Frankly I don’t know. Moving forward, I hope Coach Ranko balances out the workload a little more. I shudder to think what will happen to our team should Maxime sustain a bad injury. Touchwood. All of you reading this please touch wood as well. Datkovic Injury Datkovic is a tough guy – and so for him to lie on the ground wincing in pain after a collision with Hassan Sunny must have meant he was in a lot of pain. There is talk about the injury being a fractured rib, while some others say it’s a bruised rib. If it’s a fracture, then he’ll be out for at least a month. Fingers crossed. It’s a real shame because I feel he has settled into the team really well. He is assured in defence, useful in build-up, and also a penalty-box threat at the other end during setpieces. He is also the only left-footed centre-back option that we have, so this is a big blow to us, because it has an effect on how we play out from the back. The Toni-Bailey partnership has been an integral part of the defence that has conceded the second-least number of goals in the SPL this season. Toni’s injury means we will likely see a partnership that is largely untested, Bailey + Lionel, or Bailey + Hariss. This thus has further knock-on effects as to the midfield options that we have. All in all, a big blow to have Toni out for so long. Bailey was also left out of the squad for the loss to Albirex, with sources stating he suffered a concussion during the Borneo game. Fingers crossed he can make it back for this game – we’ll need all the bodies we can get. Geylang Always Give Us a Tough Time I was a little surprised when I checked the head-to-head results between Geylang and the Sailors in the past few meetings. I was expecting to see Geylang taking points off us left right and centre, but surprisingly we actually won all 3 games against Geylang in 2023, and the only bad result was the 1-1 draw earlier this season. Of course, there’s a reason for why I had that impression, and I suspect some other Sailors fans will have that impression too. First, it’s because we remember 2022 all too well, when we faced Geylang 4 times, and only managed 1 win. Even leaving aside the results, Noor Ali has set his side up well against us in the past few years, so much so that even if we do win, it isn’t exactly convincing. I am sure you will remember the 2-1 win over them when we needed a pair of Lestienne freekicks to bail us out – we were completely impotent in attack that day, and defensively we had to rely on a Mamat masterclass to stop Geylang from increasing their lead. This season’s game also saw Geylang completely grab hold of the impetus in the first half, and they scored after Bezecourt capitalised on a Hariss error. They do very well to stop us playing out of the back and building in any meaningful fashion, so we can expect more of the same this time. Tomoyuki Doi The man’s a machine. Even when Geylang are playing like crap, he scores. He’s now on 20 goals for the season, and to put things into context, that’s about half of Geylang’s goals (45), and more than the numbers of goals scored by Tanjong Pagar (15), DPMM (19). It is also equal to the number of goals scored by Young Lions and Hougang United, while only one less than that scored by Albirex (21). It is just insane. And he takes them from everywhere too. While he is a potent penalty-box finisher, 5 of his 20 goals were taken from outside the box as well, meaning you can’t just sit off him as well. With the Sailors defence in flux – I am not

It was 7-1 last time out against the White Swans as they meekly surrendered in that game. A combination of poor form and terribly naive tactics by King Kazu meant that our Sailors managed to hit them on transitions again and again and again. And again. It was terribly cathartic for Sailors fans, considering all the damage they have done to us over the years. Watch the highlights here again if you so wish. Are we likely to do a repeat of it? I don’t think so. More Pragmatic Albirex Since King Kazu got the sack, I think the truth finally dawned on Albirex that this season’s team was not very good. Not only was it not a championship-contending team, it is actually a team that would struggle to survive relegation (if there was such a concept in the SPL). They’ve since amended their style to be a lot more pragmatic, staying solid and compact and trying to hit teams on the counter with the pace of Daniel Goh and Shingo Nakano. Their last result was a 0-0 draw, the first time in 2 years that a goalless draw has been seen in the SPL. They managed to limit the effervescent attacking trio of DPMM, something that Geylang International failed to do earlier this evening. A part of this was perhaps due to the return of veteran midfielder Yojiro Takahagi, who managed to exert some control in midfield. This, coupled with Syed Firdaus Hassan’s return to midfield meant that Albirex were harder to break down than they usually are this season. Nakano – One to Fear When I first heard that Albirex were signing a kid who played college football in the USA, I thought to myself, wow how desperate could they be? But credit to them, what a masterstroke it has turned out to be. With raw energy, pace and athleticism, he has really proven to be the difference for Albirex. Since the Sailors game, he has struck 6 times in 7 games. He has 8 goals and 1 assist this season, making it 0.9 goals per game. For reference, Maxime is on 0.84, Shawal is on 0.89 and Lennart is on 0.69. Of his goals, he has also shown he is rather versatile – scoring with left foot, right foot, and his head. The last time we played him, he hadn’t fully settled in yet (though the same can be said of Lennart Thy who was still being criticised by some fans despite us racking up 7 goals). If we can stop the supply to Nakano, we can probably keep Albirex quiet tomorrow evening. Will Sailors Bounce Back with a Strong Side? Or Will they Rotate? A 3-0 loss to Borneo FC has gotta be slightly demoralising. And when you lose, your legs feel that bit heavier. You can play games every 3 days and if you’re winning each one comfortably, you might still feel that spring in your step. Does Coach Ranko rotate for this one, given that Albirex are one of the weaker teams in the SPL, and giving some key players a chance to get their legs back before the Geylang game on Friday? I think he won’t make wholesale changes, but I believe some regulars will come in. Shawal and Hariss I can see them starting given that they didn’t start in midweek. Rui Pires, given his early sending-off, should probably start as well. Should Obren be available, then the foreigner quota comes into the equation again. Does Coach Ranko drop one of our two foreign centre-backs to allow Obren to play? Conclusion Whatever lineup is put out, we absolutely have to beat this season’s version of Albirex. Let’s put the midweek disappointment behind us and go top of the table (Tampines don’t play this weekend). COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE! My predicted line-up Izwan Mahbud Lionel Tan, Bailey Wright, Toni Datkovic, Chris van Huizen Rui Pires, Adam Swandi, Hariss Harun Maxime Lestienne, Lennart Thy, Shawal Anuar Score Prediction Joseph and I predict the scores and track our success in a table. Stay tuned to find out who is the prediction king! 3 points for exact scoreline predicted correctly, 2 points for predicting the winner and margin of victory correctly (but not the exact scoreline), and 1 point for predicting the outcome correctly (win, lose or draw). Eddy’s prediction: Albirex 1 Sailors 3 Joseph’s prediction: Albirex 0 Sailors 3 Written by Eddy Hirono Picture courtesy of Lion City Sailors If you’d like to support the work we do here at SailorFanTalk, you may want to visit https://ko-fi.com/sailorfantalk and leave us a tip!

The last time we played these opponents, it was the late, late show, with Shawal’s acrobatic goal giving us the lead only in the 86th minute of the game. Maxime Lestienne then added on some gloss with a truly fantastic curler from the edge of the box to seal the points. It was an unconvincing result, but performance-wise, we absolutely battered DPMM and it was only the heroics from Naumovski and some wasteful finishing which prevented us from scoring even more. In this preview, I talk about how I believe our Sailors are primed to get yet another big scoreline. Let’s dive right into it. Set-Pieces (Yes, Again) By now you must be kinda bored of hearing this – but yes, our opponents are spectacularly bad at defending from set-pieces. They’ve conceded 7 goals from set-pieces this season, despite playing one game fewer than the most of the league. This is second-highest in the league, with the highest being Hougang, the team we vanquished at the weekend. One-third of the goals conceded by DPMM are from set-pieces. Part of the explanation for this is the same as Hougang’s – just simply a lack of quality at centreback. Since Flottmann’s injury for DPMM, they have not looked the same side, and it is no wonder that they have already dipped into the market to search for new foreigners. They’ve signed a few already if transfermrkt.com is to be believed, but will have to wait for the transfer window to open before they can register anyone. But those with a good memory will remember that Naumovski turned in a great performance against us the last time out, and is one of the more reliable keepers in the league. So surely he compensates a little for his centre-backs not being the most dominant? Yes and no. While Naumovski has proven to be capable in the air, if we take a look at the 5 goals our centre-backs Bailey and Toni have got from corner kicks, you will realise that all of them were outswingers. 4 were delivered by Lestienne’s left foot, while the other was delivered by the right foot of Adam Swandi. What this does is that it negates his prowess in the air, because outswingers curl away from the keeper, and it is very unlikely that a keeper will come out for those unless it’s very poorly-placed, or it is a very slow ball. Once again, you heard it here first – we’re gonna score from a setpiece. DPMM are a Lucky Team with a Good Goalkeeper I’ve already talked about Naumovski a little in the previous section – let’s talk about him a little more. DPMM has the 3rd-best defensive record in the league, with 21 goals conceded. Sailors and Tampines have each conceded 12, while Geylang have conceded 22. The rest of the league is in the region of 30. However, if you take a look at xG allowed to their opponents, DPMM are actually near the bottom – only Young Lions and Albirex (of course) are worse. Now, of course, many factors play into this. Quality of goalkeeper is one. If you give up tons of good chances, but your goalkeeper is class, then you’re gonna rack up a big xG allowed, but not actually concede goals. Other factors, such as wasteful finishing, and luck also come into the picture. In the reverse fixture, the lingering memory is that DPMM did well to shut us out till the end, but in reality, it was a mixture of good goalkeeping and bad finishing. Take a look at the stats (DPMM in green, Sailors in blue). You can almost guarantee if we create the same kind of chances in such a dominant display tomorrow, the scoreline will be very different. Cruz Control Despite starting the season late and missing the last two games with an injury, Julio Cruz remains DPMM’s joint-highest scorer with 4 goals. He also has 3 assists under his belt. That’s 7 goal contributions in the 6 games he has played, which while not Maxime levels (21 goal contributions in 10 games), is still very presentable. I like him a lot because of his strength, skills and also his ability to use both feet. He almost scored against Zharfan in the last game with a 35-yard piledriver. The official SPL site preview lists him as possibly making a comeback from injury, and whether he makes it not will be a crucial factor in determining whether we walk out of this match with a clean sheet. He is DPMM’s focal point in attack, and he has a real poacher’s instinct, scoring his 4 goals from only 2.54 xG. Let’s hope he can’t make it back in time. Or maybe just maybe, he’s not out injured, and he just had a falling-out or something with his coach? I am just speculating of course, but it does seem strange that DPMM would go out and sign a 31-year-old Spanish striker (Sergio Mendigutxia) unless someone in their frontline is leaving. It’s ParThy Time Please excuse me for that terrible pun. Jokes aside – Lennart Thy has been playing well, playing selflessly for the team, and contributing to wins. However, there hasn’t been a game yet where he forces everyone to take notice of him. I think that time has come. He looked a relieved man with his 2 goals last week, and that may be all he needs against a weak backline. For context, Brunei’s national team is ranked 190th in the world, while Singapore’s is 160th. Without a foreign centreback, Lennart Thy is essentially going up against an all-Bruneian backline. He will have no better chance to plunder them for goals. Hafiz Nor Last but not least, Hafiz Nor hit his 100th appearance for the Sailors recently, and will be presented with a special commemorative gift by the club tomorrow. The presentation will take place after the pre-match warmup so be there early to applaud this legend of the

Sometimes I feel very tempted to write a preview which just says “How can Sailors possibly not win this game?” This is one of those games. But you guys pay good money to read these previews, so I feel obliged to write something anyway. Wait, what, SailorFanTalk articles are free? You gotta be kidding me. Into the preview we go. Hougang are the Lowest Scorers in the League Yes. 12 goals. Even lower than Albirex. Who scored 7 of their 14 goals in one game, and the other 7 goals took them eight games to achieve. Even lower than Tanjong Pagar United and Young Lions, both with 13. They are a team that do not commit numbers into attack, and are happy soaking up the pressure before trying to break quickly to score. However, due to the aforementioned reluctance to push people into attack, they struggle to get goals. Their brightest attacking threats are Dejan Racic, Stjepan Plazonja, and Hazzuwan Halim. Together, they have only 9 goals in total, which is just 1 goal more than Maxime Lestienne has achieved this season. On paper, they should pose little threat to us. However, one thing to look out for would be Shahdan Sulaiman slowly coming back into form. He suffered a horrific injury that deprived Hougang of him for almost the entire 2023 season, but is beginning to form a useful partnership in the middle of the park with Shodai Yokoyama. Shahdan also poses a threat on setpieces, so we would do well not to give up silly freekicks and corners. Hougang have not scored from and indirect freekick or corner yet this season, but with Shahdan’s delivery, and some tall players, there’s always a possibility. Hougang’s Defence – Not Great Aside from conceding 23 goals in 9 games, Hougang also concede the second-most from set pieces. They have conceded 6 times this season, second only to DPMM, who have conceded 7 times from set pieces. They have a shocking inability to mark their opponents in the box, and evidence of this can be seen from their game against Tampines where Irfan Najeeb was basically unchallenged for both of his headed goals. More recently, they allowed Jun Kobayashi to score off a simple near-post corner routine. With Toni Datkovic and Bailey Wright in our team, this is surely somewhere we can take advantage. Bailey Wright told his neighbour that he is gonna score 10 goals this season, and he has already scored twice, so 8 more to go! Bailey’s gonna score again this Sunday – you heard it here first! Hougang Have a Lack of Depth Take a look at this lineup in their last game. Besides Gabriel Quak and Ajay Robson, who can they really bring on to change the game? I mean, three of those substitutes are goalkeepers, which should go to show how poor their depth is. In case you missed the news, Kiki Krajcek has been deregistered for him to seek treatment for a long-standing injury in his own country. Should things not be going well for Hougang, they genuinelly lack options to help them switch things up. Hougang’s Poor Form Hougang picked up a win last time out, courtesy of a beautiful left-footed drive by Plazonja that beat Hassan Sunny. It was their first win in 12 games, a run that stretched back to last season. But it’s Albirex. I think Albirex is in such poor form now that you could send out 11 scarecrows, strap on football boots and kits on them, and there’d be a 50-50 chance of Scarecrows FC winning. Not much more to add here – I’ve been trying to see if Hougang has shown anything in their play so far to make me fear a little that we will drop points. So far, nothing. Maybe the pitch…? Bad Pitch Condition The Bishan Stadium pitch has seen better times. It is now bald in some spots, and divots are starting to appear across the pitch. In fact, one of the divots caused Kodai Tanaka to sky a penalty in his last game. Why do I raise this? It feels like I am really clutuching at straws to see how any other factor might help Hougang against us. The bad pitch could potentially work in their favour because they tend to play more football in the air, while we like to pass it around a bit more. This coupled with Marko Kraljevic’s history of utilising Toa Payoh Stadium’s potato patch of a pitch to his team’s advantage in the past, could maybe give us some cause for concern. Sailors Availability Turning our focus to our own Sailors, I guess the big question is whether Izwan will retain his place. This weekend’s starting lineup will tell us whether dropping Zharfan was a one-off to take him out of the firing line a little after his blunder against Tampines, or whether dropping him was permanent – i.e. it’s Izwan’s spot to lose now. I am quite sure it’s the latter. We might also wonder if Bart Ramselaar is back in contention. He got injured exactly 2 weeks ago, and from experience, hamstring injuries tend to take 2-3 weeks to heal. If there is still any tightness at all, I would hope the club does the wise thing and continues to rest him. While bringing Bart on against Balestier made sense because they are a good opponent and we needed someone to give us more attacking impetus, I think we should already have too much firepower for Hougang. Keeping Bart out of the squad would also allow Rui Pires to start yet another game, which would be good for him to build up match fitness and confidence. Obren Kljajic and Abdul Rasaq have also been seen back in training – but sometimes I do wonder if the club’s media team purposely puts such training pictures out to try and confuse and mislead opposition coaches a little. Adam Swandi has been missing from the last 2