Hopes high for Hougang United as they look to bounce back against Tampines Rovers

It's safe to say that Hougang didn't have the greatest of seasons last year. The Cheetahs finished bottom of the league after winning only two games and scoring less than a goal a game. Tampines had a strong season last year, finishing as the second highest placed Singaporean team and earning a place in the AFC Cup. Sunday's result seems obvious, an easy opening day win for The Stags. However, the buzz around Hougang United feels different this season, some even talk of silverware. The game on Sunday will show if all the positive talk coming from the Hougang camp is justified, or if the fans can expect another season of disappointment.

Hougang United did show small signs of turning things around in the latter part of last season, especially after the appointment of Clement Teo. The Cheetahs began last year under the management of Philippe Aw who put his faith in youth and started the season with a squad with an average age of 21. Aw's trust in youth was admirable but when the Hougang chairman Bill Ng observed that he could no longer tolerate the "nonsense, excuses, laziness, pettiness or performing without the passion, ferocity and determination to fight for HGFC’s name", it was clear that something needed to change. Aw was sent packing and his assistant, and former Tampines boss, Clement Teo was given the job on a temporary basis. As so often happens, the change had an immediate effect and Hougang won their first game of the season in Teo's debut match against Balestier Khalsa. Hougang may have only gone on to win one more game during the season but the change in atmosphere at the club was clear. This was underlined by the impressive 2-2 draw with champions Albirex in the penultimate game of the season followed by another draw in the final game of the season.

Teo was given the job permanently at the end of the season and began the tough task of rebuilding the squad. Adding experience and addressing last season's lack of firepower up front were obviously the main priorities. Teo moved early to address both of these areas with the re-signing of fan favourite Stipe Plazibat. The 31 year old Croatian is a proven goalscorer at this level and has an impressive record from his two seasons in Singapore. Plazibat spent a season leading the line for Hougang in 2016, scoring 16 goals in 24 games before moving to Home United the following year where he found the net an incredible 38 times. Plazibat, who was available after spending some time playing in Thailand, was chased by a number of Singapore Premier League teams and the fact that Hougang were able to secure his services sends out a clear message to the rest of the league. If Hougang are to bounce back from last year's disaster they will need the predatory instincts of the Croatian to click in straight away. Plazibat once scored four in his debut for Home, a repeat of that would be much appreciated on Sunday.

Teo's search for a suitable strike partner for Plazibat seemed to be over when the club announced the signing of exciting Brazilian Rafael Ramazotti. However, as has been well documented, Ramazotti has already left the club to play in Mexico. Instead Teo has turned to Singaporean star Faris Ramli, who is returning to the SPL after a year playing in Malaysia. The signing of Faris has captured undoubtedly raised the level of interest around Hougang this year. The versatile, exciting Singaporean forward has already made it clear that he expects The Cheetahs to be challenging this year when he said “My aim is to win at least one piece of silverware with Hougang this year". The signing of Faris along with other experienced Singaporean players like Hafiz Sujad, Afiq Yunos, Zulfahmi Arifin and M. Anumanthan brings the total number of Singaporean internationals at Hougang to 8. Teo will be hopeful of having solved the two problems of goal scoring and experience with these pre-season buys.

Hougang have probably been the best supported team in the league over the last few seasons. Their loyal fans have followed the team home and away and at times have seemed like the team's 12th man. However, this season Hougang are one of the four teams who will be leaving their traditional stadiums to share grounds. Technically Hougang will be playing at home on Sunday but the unfamiliar surroundings of the Jalan Besar stadium might not help them. It's vital that Hougang quickly adapt to their new surroundings if they want to put the problems of last year behind them, a poor start could see their title aspirations over before they have even started.

Tampines Rovers are making the trip out to Myanmar this week to play Yangon United in the AFC Cup. What impact will this long away trip have on the team's energy levels? Sunday could be a great time to play Tampines. However, if they get a result in Myanmar confidence will be high. Either way, Sunday is vital for both teams who see themselves as title contenders this year. After Sunday we will see if Hougang really have addressed the issues from last season or if Teo's rebuilt squad lacks the foundation needed to mount a serious title bid. Should be a good game!

Later this week I will look at Tampines, reviewing their performance in Myanmar and making my predictions for this opening game. Follow me on Twitter, @kevindunkerley, if you want to keep up to date with my latest articles.

Thanks for reading.