Singapore vs Maldives

Singapore and the Maldives will face each other in a low-profile international friendly at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Singapore squandered a 1-0 lead in a morale-damaging 1-1 draw against India last time out, failing to get back to winning ways following a thumping 4-0 defeat at the hands of Vietnam. That result forms part of Singapore’s underwhelming six-game form (W1, D1, L4), during which they’ve netted under 1.5 goals five times. However, the ‘Lions’ should be confident about reigniting their scoring form, as they’ve netted 3+ goals in both previous H2H meetings with the Maldives (W2). Still, there’s no room for complacency, considering Takayuki Nishigaya’s men have netted one goal or fewer in three of their last five internationals on home soil (W2, D2, L1).

In the meantime, the Maldives simply rolled over in a dismal 3-0 defeat to Malaysia in their international friendly a few days ago, conceding twice beyond the hour mark. That loss brought the visitors’ decent three-game winning streak to a halt. Playing on foreign soil doesn’t bode well for the Maldives’ bid to get over a hangover of their recent visit to Malaysia, considering they’ve been on the losing side on seven of their last 11 international travels (W2, D2). Having conceded 2+ goals in seven of those 11 away fixtures, the ‘Red Snappers’ seem likely to provide Singapore’s frontline with a shooting gallery. But after scoring precisely three goals twice in their last three internationals on the road, they’ll fancy their chances of troubling the scoreboard.