Tottenham Hotspur vs Lion City Sailors

Tottenham Hotspur’s pre-season tour in Asia continues at the National Stadium as they take on Lion City Sailors in a routine-looking exhibition contest.

Lion City’s bid to better last season’s runner-up finish in the Singapore Premier League isn’t going according to plan as they trail table-topping Albirex Niigata by five points despite a dramatic, come-from-behind 3-2 home win over Tanjong Pagar last time out. An unanswered brace beyond the 80th minute saw Tim Sherwood’s side turn the game on its head and arrest an underwhelming two-match losing streak beforehand. Both those defeats came via an identical 3-1 scoreline and featured 2+ second-half goals, highlighting the potential for a roaring action beyond halftime. Unfortunately, the ‘Sailors’ will likely end on the receiving end of what promises to be a high-scoring contest after conceding multiple goals in their last three outings on the trot. That’s not to mention an obvious gulf in class between these adversaries.

Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou’s managerial tenure at Tottenham got off to a rather stuttering start as ‘Spurs’ suffered a 3-2 defeat to cross-city rivals West Ham United on the Australian’s touchline debut. An action-packed loss to the ‘Hammers’ prolonged Tottenham’s misery, as they’ve not lost three of their last four matches, except for 4-1 thumping of Leeds United in the penultimate 2022/23 Premier League round. That result failed to prevent the London powerhouse from missing out on European qualification for the first time since 2010. Following a dismal 8th-place finish, ‘Spurs’ hope to turn their fortunes around, but after conceding an average of 2.25 goals per game across their last four outings, their resurgence is hardly a foregone conclusion.