Defending S.League champions Warriors FC are set to welcome striker Nicolas Velez back from suspension as they take on leaders Albirex Niigata (S) in a top-of-the-table clash at the Jurong East Stadium on Monday night.
The 24-year-old, who scored 21 goals last season and finished joint second on the top scorers charts, has continued to flourish in his second year with the club. He has scored six goals in eight games this season.
However an off-the-ball scuffle with Joe Gamble in the 3-1 loss to Brunei DPMM meant the hotshot received a straight red card, which ruled him out of the last two games. In his absence, Warriors then lost 3-1 to Geylang International before bouncing back to edge Balestier Khalsa 2-1.
Speaking to ESPN FC, Velez said that he is ready to prove his abilities to coach Alex Weaver once again. "I don't think I deserve that red card. I don't really agree with the referee's decision," he recalled on that sending off. "My teammate heard the linesman telling him to give me a yellow but he sent me off. I'm not sure why but I've to forget that now and treat it as a good experience for me to learn to keep calm in situations like this.
"It's hard to watch the game from the sidelines. But I'm happy that the boys are still doing well and got an important three points against Balestier. In a way, it was good that I got to rest after playing so many games. I think I can keep up with the fitness because I've still been training every day."
So far it has been a solid start to the season for the Warriors. Alex Weaver's side have taken 21 out of the 30 points on offer which leaves them in second place, two points behind pacesetters Albirex albeit with a game in hand.
Of course, a win will see them taking over at the summit. But the task will not come any easier -- with the White Swans on a nine-game unbeaten run after losing their opening two matches of the season. They have won seven of those and conceded just twice over the same period.
Also, in their earlier encounter at the Woodlands Stadium in March, Tatsuyuki Okuyama's side walloped six goals past the Warriors to inflict their heaviest defeat of the season. However, Velez is keen not to dwell on the negatives as he looks forward to this latest showdown against the Japanese outfit.
"That 6-0 loss was a really bad result for us. But in football, anything can happen," he said. "That result doesn't feel real because they shot four times from 40 metres and scored from all of them. What can we do about that? That's history now and we're definitely going to go for the three points on Monday.
"They have a good defence. But I think we have one of the best attacking units in the league with me, Hafiz (Rahim), (Miroslav) Pejic and Fazrul (Nawaz). We've scored a lot of goals so far and I hope that we can keep up the good work and break them down."
If Velez needs inspiration, he could perhaps look back on the Warriors' last visit to the Jurong East Stadium in April 2014. After just one goal in the opening seven games, he plundered all four goals against the White Swans to help his side to an emphatic 4-0 away win.
Albirex Niigata (S) Probable Lineup: Yosuke Nazawa (GK), Takahiro Saito, Kento Fujihara, Itsuki Yamada, Rui Kumada, Hikaru Mizuno, Shun Inaba, Atsushi Kawata, Rion Taki, Kento Nagasaki, Shotaro Ihata (C).
Warriors FC Probable Lineup: Daniel Ong (GK), Emmeric Ong, Daniel Bennett (C), Marin Vidosevic, Irwan Shah, Kevin McCann, Thomas Beattie, Miroslav Pejic, Nicolas Velez, Hafiz Rahim, Fazrul Nawaz.