Struggling Home United will be looking to change their recent fortunes when they take on Geylang International at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday evening.
After a decent start to the season which saw them pick up one win and three draws, injuries to captain Noh Rahman and star striker Ken Ilsø Larsen hit them hard as they proceeded to pick up only one win in the following five games.
A 4-1 mauling by Warriors FC was soothed by a 3-1 win against Balestier Khalsa, but that proved to be the last time they won in the league since.
A stalemate against Albirex Niigata (S) was followed up by successive 1-0 defeats against developmental sides Harimau Muda and Courts Young Lions -- leaving the Protectors languishing in the bottom half of the table, nine points off the pace.
In total, they have yet to score in 282 minutes of play -- something which coach Philippe Aw wants to rectify as soon as possible.
"It's the same story for the past few games," he told ESPN FC. "We created chances but struggle to put them away. At the end of the day, it's about putting the ball in. When you're dominating, you have to score if not the pressure comes back to you on the defensive part.
"You can see in the two defeats against Harimau Muda and Young Lions; we were chasing the game in the last 10 to 15 minutes and we got hit at the back. In football, one goal can change the whole complexion of the game.
"Even in the defeat against the Warriors, we had something like 26 shots and 14 on target but only scored one. So basically we need a change of fortunes; instead of hitting the bar or wide, we have to try to hit the back of the net."
Aw admitted the loss of Ilsø through injury has hampered his team's plans, despite expressing the belief earlier in the season that that they have adequate replacements in the attacking role.
"Ken's been a big miss for us," he said. "In this league, it's important that you don't lose your star player. I've watched the game between Warriors FC and Geylang (International) last week and it's the same story - no Velez and the Warriors can't perform."
The Danish hitman is recovering well from his knee problem but it remains to be seen if he receives medical clearance to make the squad for this upcoming game against Geylang.
What is certain is that effervescent attacker Stanely Ng will be available for selection despite being away for centralized training with the Singapore U23s, who are preparing for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
The 22-year-old is allowed to link up with the Protectors a day before the game before returning to the camp on Saturday -- which should give the uniformed outfit more bite in attack.
"I'll need to check his condition before playing him," said Aw. "I'm glad that he has already gotten his first goal. He failed to do so last season (with the Young Lions) and we wanted to add certain things to his game. So far he has done well. Going forward, you can expect more goals from him."
The task to take down Geylang will not be easy though, with the Eagles coming off the back of a 3-1 upset win against defending champions Warriors FC. Captain Jozef Kaplan, who scored the equalizer against Home in a 1-1 draw earlier in the season, hit a brace in that game to increase his tally to six for the season.
Aw hopes that his side will be up to the task to limit the threat of the Slovakian attacker.
"No doubt, Kaplan's the main man for them," he said. "He's the guy that leads the team, does the running and the shooting. He's one player which we need to stop and we'll be looking to minimize his participation during the game."
Home United Probable Lineup: Hyrulnizam Juma'at (GK), Redzwan Atan, Abdil Qaiyyim, Juma'at Jantan (C), Ang Zhiwei, Song Ui-Young, Yasir Hanapi, Fazli Ayob, Stanely Ng, Sirina Camara, Kamel Ramdani.
Geylang International Probable Lineup: Yazid Yasin (GK), Yuki Ichikawa, Hafiz Osman, Kento Fukuda, Syed Thaha, Nor Azli Yusoff, Shah Hirul, Hafiz Nor, Jozef Kaplan (C), Tatsuro Inui, Bruno Castanheira.