Tampines Rovers take on Balestier Khalsa at the Toa Payoh Stadium in their third S.League game of the ongoing season on Saturday evening.
The Stags are heading into the game after a crushing 5-0 AFC Cup defeat to Philippines' Ceres Negros on Tuesday. On the other hand, Balestier have not opened their account with back-to-back defeats early in the season with the latest being a 2-0 loss to Geylang International last Saturday.
Tampines have struggled to be consistent so far winning only two of their five games after the start of the new year. While they lost their S.League opener, which was also the Great Eastern Community Shield, to Albirex Niigata, they bounced back with a league win against Hougang United last week.
Juergen Raab will be missing defenders Madhu Mohana and Ismadi Mukhtar, both of whom are serving suspension after seeing a red in their loss to Albirex. The Stags seemed to miss their skipper as Ceres kept finding the space and the back of the net in their last match but the team is expected to fare better against Balestier, who are not being able to create enough chances upfront despite roping in the likes of Nanda Linn Kyaw Chit and Aung Kyaw Naing from Myanmar this season.
On the other hand, Khairul Amri and Ivan Dzoni in their new team and are consistently contributing for Tampines. Having beaten Balestier all three times last season, Tampines will be eyeing to extend their record over the Tigers are keep the pressure on Home United and Albirex, who are sitting pretty at the top two spots of the table.
Team News
Balestier
Possible XI: Nizam; Salleh, Kamis, Hadi, Syafeeq; Rahman, Halim, Aziz; Zayar Win, Kyaw Naing, Lin Chit
Tampines
Possible XI: Mahbud; Taha, Mustafic, Bennett, Shah; Megumi, Son, Hanapi, Dzoni; Ali, Amri
