Hougang United's version of Gennaro Gattuso, defensive midfielder Raihan Rahman, has labelled his Croatian teammate Stipe Plazibat as S.League's answer to Safuwan Baharudin.
The club from Hougang have been the surprise package of the S.League this season, and are unbeaten on home soil with three wins and two draws.
K. Balagumaran's charges have lost their way a little in the past fortnight, losing two of their three matches to see them tumble to sixth place on 17 points.
A win against the Garena Young Lions on Thursday, however, could see them leapfrog three clubs -- Home United, Geylang International and Brunei DPMM to third.
Raihan is adamant anything less than three points will be deemed a poor result.
"Last game [loss to DPMM] was very unlucky and a draw would have been a fair result because we didn't deserve to lose after working so hard to come back," Raihan told ESPN FC.
"But that is over now and we must look towards the Young Lions match. This in my opinion is a do-or-die, must win or whatever we call it.
"But we definitely cannot afford to lose any more if we want to climb back up the table."
Despite the uncertainty of last season's S.League player of the year Fumiya Kogure for the Young Lions game due to injury, Raihan is confident there are enough players to replace the Japanese playmaker's creativity behind eight-goal striker Plazibat.
"Fumiya is a key player for us but without him, we are still going to be strong. Players like Na'iim [Ishak] have done well when called upon.
"And of course in attack we have the Croatian Safuwan in Stipe. He attacks and defends very well and is one of the top foreigners in the league this season. He plays like my ex-teammate Safuwan and both have very similar characteristics."
Currently in the form of his life, onlookers are expecting Raihan to break into the Lions setup and nail down a spot for the national team, something he has taken a much calmer approach to than in the past.
"I've a lot of trust from the coaches at Hougang and I love my current role which is my best position," he said.
"If I get called up to play for Singapore, great. But if not, I'll just keep focusing on my club that has the best fans in the league.
"They make stepping out on the pitch a lot more fun, and every time the chips are down, we battle harder to give the Hougang Hools what they deserve."
Raihan will likely partner Nurhilmi Jasni in central midfield with K. Anumanthan suspended and Kogure rated 50-50 to make it back in time for the game.
Hougang will be seeking to take their unbeaten home record to six games in front of their adoring home fans.