Warriors FC will need to keep a close eye on Brunei DPMM forwards Paulo Sergio and Rafael Ramazotti when the two clubs face off on Friday night in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League game at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Ramazotti is the league's top goalscorer with six goals while former Sporting Lisbon forward Sergio already has three goals since joining the team last month. Brunei DPMM are still unbeaten in the season and are in third place with four wins and one draw.
"They (Ramazotti and Sergio) look dangerous going forward," Warriors winger Hafiz Rahim Hafiz told ESPN FC. "We've been going through videos of DPMM's games and the two new foreign players seem to have settled in very well.
"We will face them with an appropriate game plan devised by coach Alex [Weaver] which we can hopefully execute successfully."
Warriors are currently top of the table with 18 points after two come-from-behind victories over Tampines (3-2) and Courts Young Lions (2-1) in the past week.
Fazrul Nawaz and Nicholas Velez have worked well in tandem, scoring ten of the team's 18 goals while the likes of Miroslav Pejic and Hafiz are key creators down the wings.
Despite trailing in their last two games, Hafiz reckons the team's strong determination is a reason for their ability to bounce back. "Coach Weaver always emphasizes on teamwork and we do a lot of bonding exercises that brings us together as a unit. This is probably the reason why we are so closely knit as a team and perhaps the reason behind us getting results even after trailing.
"Playing behind Pejic, Velez and Fazrul has been great because we have chemistry. It also helps that I've played with Fazrul in the past so everything has been gelling very well.
While the Warriors lead the charge at the top, Steve Kean's DPMM side have two games in hand and look even stronger than last season.
In addition to the strike force of Ramazotti and Sergio, the defensive unit of Stuart McLean, Boris Raspudic, Sairol Sahari and Aminuddin Zakwan have also played their part. Brunei DPMM have conceded only five goals.
The clash between these teams could go a long way in deciding where the S.League trophy ends up at the end of the season. DPMM are eager to make amends for their end of season stutter that allowed Warriors to claim their ninth league title in 2014.
Brunei DPMM Probable Lineup: Wardun Yussof (GK), Aminuddin Zakwan, Stuart McLean, Boris Raspudic, Sairol Sahari, Najib Tarif, Joseph Gamble, Hendra Azam, Azwan Ali, Paulo Sergio, Rafael Ramazotti
Warriors Probable Lineup: Daniel Ong (GK), Irwan Shah, Marin Vidosevic, Daniel Bennett, Syaqir Sulaiman, Kevin McCann, Thomas Beattie, Hafiz Rahim, Miroslav Pejic, Nicholas Velez, Fazrul Nawaz