Courts Young Lions and Harimau Muda will go into their Friday evening match hoping to secure their first win in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League as a tune-up to the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in June.
Aide Iskandar's team only have a 1-1 away draw to Hougang United to show for and were on the receiving end of a 5-1 mauling by Balestier Khalsa last week.
Just when the critics have begun sharpening their knives, Aide made a brilliant move by bringing in Kadir Yahya as his second assistant coach alongside S. Subramani. It is a move that has reinvigorated their hopes for success.
Kadir, who was instrumental in V. Sundramoorthy's LionsXII tenure as his sidekick, started his new appointment on Monday and the team has already felt his purposeful presence in this short span of time.
Aide said: "Kadir's presence in training this week has already proven to be a positive effect for the boys. I have been working behind the scenes for a long time, trying to convince him to join me in preparing this team for the SEA Games.
"I'm confident that together with Mani, the three of us can galvanise the team and work towards the target of a medal showing at the SEA Games."
With no injuries to contend with, Aide is likely to stick with his usual starting eleven, barring M. Anumanthan who is serving the second of a two-match suspension for his straight red against Tampines Rovers.
Striker Iqbal Hussain is the best attacking option for the Young Lions and the two-goal forward will be hoping to score his third against Razip Ismail's team who have conceded seven goals in three games so far.
Aide acknowledged the need to improve but is pleased with the progress of Iqbal whom he feels will be a "big asset" for the team in this crucial year.
He said: "We have to be realistic and know that there are weaknesses we need to sort out. I'm looking to tighten up defensively and we will continue to work on the attacking part of the game where players like Shahfiq [Ghani] and Iqbal must learn to lead from the front.
"Iqbal has been looking sharp all season and with a couple more goals in the league, he will go into the SEA Games tournament with a lot of confidence which is good for us."
As for his counterpart Razip, his Harimau Muda side have yet to register a point this season after three consecutive league losses but the team showed signs of revival in their last match against Albirex Niigata (S) who only managed a narrow 1-0 win at the Hang Jebat Stadium.
The attacking trio of Adam Nor, Faizat Ghazli and Kumaahran Sathasivam will be looking to impress after getting the call-up to Ong Kim Swee's provisional U23 squad for the SEA Games earlier this week.
Courts Young Lions Probable Lineup: Syazwan Buhari (GK), Fadli Kamis, Shakir Hamzah, Sheikh Abdul Hadi, Al-Qaasimy Rahman (C), Farhan Rahmat, Afiq Noor, Shamil Sharif, Shahfiq Ghani, Adam Swandi, Irfan Fandi
Harimau Muda Probable Lineup: Ramdhan Hamid (GK), Annas Bin Rahmat, Wan Ahmad Amirzafran (C), Asri Mardzuki, Ashmawi Yakin, Syazwan Andik, Shahrul Igwan Bin Samsudin, Faris Shah Bin Rosli, Ridzuan Abdunloh, Adam Nor, Kumaahran Sathiasivam