The Great Eastern Yeo's S.League resumes this week after a break for the Singapore Cup semifinal stages and will see five teams slug it out in the last four rounds of fixtures with league leaders Brunei DPMM FC hoping to be just the second foreign team to lift the most coveted trophy in Singapore football.
Coached by former Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean, the Bruneian outfit are five points clear of Warriors FC, Albirex Niigata FC and Home United FC who occupy second to fourth spot respectively, all tied on 41 points.
Kean's deadly attacking trio of Rodrigo Tosi, Roy O'Donovan and local hero Azwan Ali have amassed 42 goals in 23 matches but were halted in their tracks at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium last Wednesday when Home United walked away with a 2-1 victory.
The Protectors who are still in the title race, will rely strongly on former South Korea and Samsung Suwon Bluewings playmaker Lee Kwan Woo, Fazrul Nawaz and the resurgent Qiu Li.
Coach Lee Lim Saeng knows that his team have given themselves a lifeline by beating DPMM FC and may just push "Player of the Season" contender Sirina Camara further forward to provide more attacking impetus.
Two other contenders, Albirex and Tampines still have an outside shot at the title but both teams' inconsistent form and overreliance on star players -- like 20-goal forward Kazuki Sakamoto and Tampines captain Fahrudin Mustafic -- makes it tough for either team to launch a final assault in the coming weeks.
With three pretenders to the throne refusing to give up, local hopes of keeping the crown on Singapore soil could rest in the hands of Alex Weaver's Warriors FC who have one game in hand over their opponents.
The Englishman has done well in his first full season with the team, having stepped in midway through the season last time out. With 12 wins, five draws and five losses on the board, Weaver needs to go on a five-match unbeaten run to usurp DPMM FC at the top of the table.
Daniel Bennett and Marin Vidosevic's solidity at the back has provided wingers Hafiz Rahim and newly minted Singapore national team youngster Suria Prakash the opportunity to pour forward at every given opportunity, but it is the fearsome strike force of Croatian duo Nicholas Velez and Miroslav Pejic who have kept the team from the west in second spot.