Causeway derby in Airmarine Cup

We are not even a month into this year's Singapore Premier league but it's time to shift our attentions to the National Team for the next week or so as they head across the causeway to take on traditional rivals Malaysia as well as, the perhaps less well known, Afghan and Omani teams. Having never watched the national side I'm intrigued to see how they get on. The Lions will begin their campaign in the inaugural Airmarine cup against neighbours Malaysia on Wednesday 20th March and will be hoping for glory, playing for national pride but also, perhaps more importantly, FIFA world ranking points. The top 34 Asian nations get an automatic spot in the second round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Singapore are currently clinging on to this 34th place while Malaysia are ranked 35th. The Singapore national team is still technically without a manager but former Lions captain Nazri Nasir, who made his National Team debut against Malaysia almost 30 years ago, has been awarded the job on a temporary basis. Nazri told the Independent that “It is a dream and an honour to be Lions coach for this big tournament.”

The match is sure to be played in hostile conditions with Malaysia looking to make the most of home advantage. Expect a sell out crowd in Bukit Jalil, despite the ticket price increase leading to some fans boycotting the game, and an intimidating atmosphere, especially after the recent border tensions between the two countries. However, the last time the two teams met in KL it was Singapore who had the bragging rights as they ran out 3-0 winners back the 2012 Suzuki Cup, a tournament that Singapore went onto win. Although on paper Malaysia are ranked below the Lions, in my opinion, they come into this game as favourites. This is largely based on their impressive performance in this year's Suzuki Cup, the biennial football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation. Malaysia made it to the final of the tournament only to lose the two legged final against an impressive Vietnam. Malaysia held Vietnam to a draw in KL before narrowly losing out in Hanoi. Malaysia played an attractive passing game during the tournament and are expected to stick to the same plan tomorrow night. The biggest threat is likely to be veteran striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, known as Matyo, who netted 5 times in the Suzuki Cup last year. His teammate at Pahang, Safuwan Baharudin, is likely to have his hands full trying to deal with him but the fact that the two train together every day could help the Singaporean defender. There is also some doubt over Matyo's fittness as he has reportedly been suffering from a cold in recent days. If Matyo does not make the starting lineup the Tigers will look to their captain Zaquan Adha to score the goals. Zaquan thrives on crosses and is sure to get plenty from attacking wing back Syahmi Safari. As well as creating goals, Syahmi has shown he can produce spectacular finishes like the Puskas prize nominated goal he scored against Thailand. Singapore's full backs also like to get forward so there could be plenty of space for Syahmi to exploit, it will be important that Faritz maintains his concentration to deal with the threat.

Nazri may be an inexperienced National Team coach but he has taken an experienced squad to KL. This is largely down to the fact that Singapore's brightest young players are currently with the national under-22 team preparing for the upcoming U23 Qualifiers. The most experienced player in the Singapore squad is Tampines Rovers striker Khairul Amri who is 34 years old, and has 32 goals in his 128 games for the national team. Khairul has played a key role for the impressive Tampines Rovers this year and scored a great goal against Geylang in the Eastern Derby last week. He is likely to be partnered by Hougang United's Faris Ramli who spent last season terrorising defenders in the Malaysian Super League and has already got 3 goals in the Singapore Premier league this season. Faris has forged a great partnership with Plazibat, it can be argued that the Croatian has benefited from Faris' pace and clever movement. We hope to see more of this tomorrow night.

In the same way that Singapore Premier League teams often rely on their foreign imports, a lot is expected from the four players currently based overseas: Goalkeeper Izwan Mahmud, the Pahang defender tasked with keeping Myto quiet Safuwan Baharudin, ex Home United defender Shakir Hamzah and of course Johor's Hariss Harun. Hariss was the only Singaporean player I had heard of before moving here and is undoubtedly the star of the team. Club captain for the Malaysian champions and National Team captain for the Lions, he has achieved the rare feat of being highly respected by fans in both countries, helped by the fact he has won the Malaysian Super League 6 times. Hariss made his national debut at only 16 and Singapore will need all of his experience tomorrow night. The commanding midfielder will look to dictate the tempo of the game and win the midfield battle.

Having said that Malaysia are strong favourites for the game tomorrow I'm going to let my heart rule my head and say that Singapore will triumph in KL. Faris and Khairul will combine well and get a goal each. I wish I had the right channel to watch it live tomorrow, instead I'm going to have to find a decent stream. If anyone knows of one you can let me know on Twitter @kevindunkerley.

Thanks for reading.