Lion City Sailors will resume the hunt for the Singapore Premier League (SPL) title with a mouthwatering top of the table clash when the league resumes after a break for FIFA international fixtures.

The Sailors will face league leaders Albirex Niigata (S) at the Jurong East Stadium on Friday, 23 July, just one point behind the Japanese side who lead the eight-team standings with 27 points from 11 games.

The Sailors have 26 points following an eight-match unbeaten run that started on 7 March, in a 2-2 draw with Albirex that the club hopes can continue against the same opponents.

This comes after the Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) announcement of the updated SPL fixtures earlier today.

The FAS revealed that while the SPL was initially scheduled to resume on 2 July, fixtures were rescheduled to allow clubs to have at least two weeks of preparation time with their respective players who were called up for international duty with the Singapore National Team. These players were required to serve a Stay Home Notice upon their return to Singapore, ending on 4 July.

This decision was made in consultation with SPL clubs, and takes other scheduling factors into consideration.

Tampines Rovers will represent Singapore in the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) 2021 (East) Group Stage from 25 June to 10 July in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. To accommodate the Stags’ ACL participation, the Sailors who were initially scheduled to face Tampines on 11 July, will play the match on 4 August instead.

After taking on Tampines, Sailors will line up against Balestier Khalsa (8 Aug) before facing the Stags again on 15 Aug.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation, all SPL matches will continue to be played behind closed doors.