In each of their three league-winning campaigns, Albirex Niigata have always won their first few games of the season to give themselves a good start in the title race.
They now find themselves in an unfamiliar position, however, having to play catch-up in the Singapore Premier League after losing their league opener 1-0 to Geylang International two weeks ago.
Throw in the Community Shield penalty shoot-out defeat to Home United last month, and it is almost unthinkable that the White Swans could lose three in a row if they fall to Brunei DPMM - who have two wins and two clean sheets from two games - at the Jurong East Stadium tonight.
The last time they suffered a hat-trick of defeats was in 2014, when the Brunei team beat them in both legs of the Singapore Cup before they lost to Tanjong Pagar in the League Cup.
On their part, Albirex have been pro-active to remedy their shortcomings.
General manager Koh Mui Tee said they went to Myanmar last week and played friendlies against their national Under-19s and U-22s, which they won 3-1 and drew 0-0 respectively.
He said: "We want to improve our attacking play, and general confidence ahead of the Brunei DPMM game and I feel we achieved our objectives during this trip.
"We scored against the Myanmar U-19s and managed to keep a clean sheet against their U-22s who are a fast and strong side."
Albirex coach Keiji Shigetomi was pleased to note that his attacking trio - pacey Daizo Horikoshi, and technically accomplished Hiroyoshi Kamata and Kyoga Nakamura - had a good outing in Myanmar.
Shigetomi said: "We didn't score in our first two games (this season) but we created a number of chances and that is a good thing.
"Against Geylang, we hit the post twice and had a shot cleared off the line.
SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE
Albirex Niigata v Brunei DPMM
Jurong East Stadium, 7.45pm
Livestream: www.fas.org.sg/live1/
0
Goals scored by Albirex Niigata, in regulation time in their opening two matches of the season.
"You could say we were unlucky, but we have to improve our accuracy, the delivery of the final ball, as well as decision-making.
"We continued to create against the Myanmar teams and this time Horikoshi scored once and Kamata scored twice so that is good for the confidence of the individuals and the team.
"At the other end, we conceded just once in two games against Home and Geylang, and that was from a corner.
"This means our defence actually held firm in open play and we did not give opponents many chances, so I feel our defence is quite stable overall."
While Albirex aim to get off the mark tonight, Shigetomi recognises the threat after the Brunei side's perfect start to the season.
He added: "This year, DPMM have three new imports in defence, midfield and attack (Englishman Charlie Clough, Australian Blake Ricciuto and Belarusian Andrey Varankow) who are strong, physical and dangerous during set plays.
"Their local players have been together in the team for many years, so they have good chemistry and we have to be careful of them too.
"But we are going for our first win of the season and we want to continue playing our own game, staying solid in defence and relying on good combination play to break down opponent's defence to achieve our objectives."
Gazzaniga, 27, has made 10 Spurs appearances this season, including two in the Premier League when Lloris was unavailable in September. Lloris is much more experienced than Gazzaniga, but Jenas fears that the Frenchman's poor form could cost Spurs a place in the top four if manager Mauricio Pochettino doesn't make a change.
Jermaine Jenas calls on Spurs to drop Hugo Lloris for Paulo
Atletico Madrid left it late to see off Girona 2-0 at home on Tuesday as strikes from Diego Godin and Antoine Griezmann kept up their faint hopes of catching La Liga leaders Barcelona, trimming
Late Godin and Griezmann goals keep Atletico in title chase
Gonzalo Higuain completes Chelsea loan deal from Juventus
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes all the Premier League's title hopefuls have problems to overcome, apart from leaders Manchester City. The Reds ended a run of three league matches without a
Liverpool is ready to fight Man City for the title, Klopp Insists
LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - Premier League leaders Manchester City recovered from two goals down to beat Championship side Swansea City 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday to progress to the
Football: Man City come from two goals down to reach FA Cup
FA Cup: Alexis Sanchez haunts Arsenal as Manchester United maintain perfect record under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Description: Alexis Sanchez was roundly booed on his first visit to the Emirates since moving to Old Trafford just over a year ago after running down his contract at Arsenal into its final six months.
Sanchez haunts Arsenal as Man Utd maintain perfect record
Neymar walked off in tears after landing awkwardly on his ankle against Strasbourg. Paris St-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel says it will be "super difficult" for Neymar to be fit for their Champions
PSG news: 'Super difficult' for Neymar to face Man Utd, says
Liverpool's total trust in Jurgen Klopp is something special, says John Barnes. The Reds legend and former skipper says Jurgen Klopp's master of his midfield could prove key in Madrid
Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp says his side have made a 'big
Sport > Football > Football League Arsene Wenger hails Marcelo Bielsa's sportsmanship after Leeds United boss gifts Aston Villa a goal. Former Arsenal manager believes Bielsa's decision to
Wenger hails Leeds' Bielsa for sportsmanship in Villa draw
ǁTwitter
Clock Repair Times Ticking Watch Repair Salt Lake City
Liverpool could match Arsenal's Invincibles by going through a Premier League season without defeat, according to Unai Emery. Jurgen Klopp's side reached the halfway stage of the campaign with a 4-0 Boxing Day defeat of Newcastle United at Anfield, a result that moved the Reds six points clear at the top of the table.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool can be the new 'Invincibles', says
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen