Lion City Sailors vs Hougang United

Singapore Premier League pacesetters Lion City Sailors play host to mid-table Hougang United at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Lion City Sailors have bounced back from a morale-crushing 2-1 home defeat to fellow title bidders Albirex Niigata with a brace of 4+ goal margin triumphs. Having won a staggering 79% of their opening 14 Singapore Premier League fixtures, the ‘Sailors’ head into proceedings six points clear of the closest followers. Another clear-cut victory is on the cards, as five of Lion City’s six home league wins this season have come by multi-goal margins. Adding to this sentiment, they are one of just two Singapore Premier League sides to have hit a 20-goal landmark at home this term (21). Moreover, they’ve conceded a league-low five home goals thus far, showing they are equally impressive on both ends of the pitch.

In the meantime, Hougang United have alternated between winning (2) and losing (1) across their last three Singapore Premier League outings following a run of back-to-back league draws beforehand. But before putting four unanswered goals past dead-last Young Lions in their most recent away league game, the ‘Cheetahs’ had gone winless on their opening six top-flight travels this season (D2, L4). More importantly, Hougang’s defensive woes saw them concede an alarming 3.16 goals on average across those six top-flight road trips. With zero clean sheets from their last four league visits to Lion City, they are right to fear worsening their defensive record here.