The Lion City Sailors will be looking to build on a decent start to their Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) Two campaign, which has yielded four points from their opening two matches, as they travel to the True BG Stadium to face 2024/25 Thai League 1 runners-up Bangkok United on Thursday (23 October) night.
Rivalry renewed
Remarkably, this will be the first of three clashes between both sides in the space of 43 days – the Sailors will host the reverse fixture on Matchday Four on 6 November, before returning to Thailand for an ASEAN Club Championship (ACC) Shopee Cup encounter on 4 December.
The sides last faced each other in the 2023/24 ACL group stage, with the Thai outfit claiming two narrow victories including a 1-0 win at the Thammasat Stadium on 28 November 2023.
“While we beat them home and away two seasons ago, the Sailors are now a totally different team,” said Bangkok head coach Totchtawan Sripan, who has been in charge of the club since December 2022.
“They were the runners-up in the ACL Two last season; they’ve improved a lot with the addition of a few foreign players although they still have the same head coach. We need to be wary of their strengths, but at the same time stick to our game plan and focus on what we can do.”
A starter for the Sailors the last time the sides met, Richairo Živković crossed the divide to join Bangkok in July 2024. The Curaçaon forward has excelled for Totchtawan’s side, with 19 goals and 11 assists in 50 appearances – including four in seven ACL Two appearances last season.
Photo: 2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
And he is not the only familiar face that the Sailors will be coming up against. Thai national number one Patiwat Khammai and long-serving Brazilian captain Everton Gonçalves have remained mainstays of the Bangkok line-up since the sides last met, while former BG Tampines Rovers duo Seia Kunori and Kyoga Nakamura have also come onboard to support free-scoring Omani international Muhsen Al-Ghassani.
Another new addition, Ilias Alhaft, has also impressed, with the former Sparta Rotterdam forward scoring twice in Bangkok’s opening 4-2 win over Malaysia’s Selangor FC.
“Bangkok’s a very good, balanced team,” said Sailors head coach Aleksandar Ranković. “We already know a couple of players that played in Singapore, Kunori and Kyoga, and their central defenders are also very stable. And if he plays, we know Richi – he’s a top quality player that we will have to keep a close eye on.”
A Bangkok side out to make amends
There is no doubting Bangkok’s calibre – this is a side that finished runners-up to Buriram United in the Thai League 1 for the past three seasons, and is continuing to push the defending champions this term.
A record of five wins, two draws and one loss from their first eight league matches sees them sit two points behind Buriram – albeit having played a game more – although they will rue the two points dropped last weekend (18 October) in a 0-0 away draw with Muangthong United.
Photo: 2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Their ACL Two campaign has been a mixed bag though, with an opening 4-2 away win over Selangor followed by a shock 2-0 defeat by Indonesia Super League champions Persib Bandung at the True BG Stadium some three weeks ago.
That threw Group G wide open ahead of the Bangkok-Sailors double header on Matchdays Three and Four, with Bangkok now in third place trailing both the Sailors and Persib by a point.
Given the fine margins, Totchtawan is keenly aware of the importance of these two games in his side’s bid to reach the knockout stages of an AFC competition for a third consecutive season; in last season’s ACL Two, they reached the last 16 where they were knocked out by Australia’s Sydney FC over two legs.
“After losing our last group game, we need to have full concentration to get back to winning ways and get an important result to improve our chances of getting into the next stage,” said the former Thai international.
Singing from the same hymn book, Bangkok defender Jakkapan Praisuwan added: “Obviously we do need this important win at home. Our coaching staff has analysed the Lion City Sailors well and done a lot of homework on their team, so I’m sure we’ll be prepared for this game.”
Sailors aim to pick up where they left off
As for the Sailors, Thursday’s clash at the True BG Stadium marks a return to the scene of one of their most memorable ACL Two victories, which took place almost a year ago on 30 October 2024.
That night, a Shawal Anuar brace propelled them to a 3-1 group stage win over Port FC – a result that proved pivotal for the Sailors to finish top of their group and become the first club from Singapore to progress into the competition’s knockout stages.
But despite going unbeaten in six outings against Thai sides across all competitions in 2024/25, Ranko is taking nothing for granted going into Thursday’s game.
“It was a nice memory (to beat Port FC last year), but it’s a totally different kind of game and different opponent tomorrow, “ said the Serb. “It’ll be a competitive game against them tomorrow.”
The Sailors will also be buoyed by the fact current ACL Two top scorer Anderson Lopes has fond memories of playing against Bangkok, having converted a dramatic, 122nd-minute penalty for Yokohama F. Marinos to clinch an ACL Round of 16 victory over Bangkok in February 2024.
He will also come up against a familiar face in Bangkok centre-back and fellow Brazilian Philipe Maia, with whom he played five games for Brazilian side Avaí FC in 2015.
But familiar faces aside, Sailors midfielder Tsiy Ndenge insisted that team effort will matter most tomorrow night.
“I know the club was really successful last season and there’s a great team spirit within this group, but to now experience it myself is something else,” said the German-Cameroonian who joined the club from Swiss Super League side Grasshopper Club Zürich in the off-season. “The team is really motivated and together, but of course we have to show it on the pitch.”
With the group finely poised going into Matchday Three, Ranko is aware of the importance of securing a positive result in Pathum Thani tomorrow night.
“I’ve said it before, this is the only group in the ACL Two this season where all four teams have similar qualities and all four teams can go through. It’s a very tough group and very competitive, so every point is very important for us to get to the next stage.”
