Albirex Niigata vs Tanjong Pagar United

Singapore Premier League title bidders Albirex Niigata play host to out-of-sorts Tanjong Pagar United at the Jurong East Stadium.

Albirex Niigata scored on either side of halftime to come out on top of an enthralling Singapore Premier League meeting with Tampines Rovers last time out (3-2) and stretch their winning league streak to six matches. That’s not only a notable upturn in form compared to four consecutive top-flight draws beforehand, but that’s helped them reduce the gap on leaders Lion City Sailors to six points. With a game in hand on the Singapore Premier League pacesetters, the ‘White Swans’ will be looking to halt a two-game losing H2H home run and potentially post their first home league triumph over Tanjong Pagar since December 2020. An impressive streak of three successive top-flight home victories by an aggregate score of 16-4 gives them every reason to hope for another landslide success.

In the meantime, travelling Tanjong Pagar have suffered a dramatic dip in form in the build-up to this encounter, going from three straight league wins to back-to-back defeats by an aggregate scoreline of 7-0. Additionally, since a ‘goal-friendly’ 3-2 victory away to rock-bottom Young Lions in early April, the visitors have alternated between draws (2) and defeats (2) across their last four Singapore Premier League travels. On a more positive note, they’ve conceded precisely once in their last two away league fixtures after letting in an average of 3.5 goals per top-flight trip beforehand.