Weekend Preview 28-31 July

World Cup Qualifier Round 2 (Second leg)
Palestine v Thailand (0-1) 

A win or a draw would be sufficient for Thailand tonight in Palestine. A loss would almost certainly have the Thais heading for the World Cup exit door. Coach Winfried Schaefer is expected to field a 4-5-1 formation. He doesn't have great striking options at his disposal, but playing a defensive game in the West Bank could prove a risky tactic. For me the key players in this game are Muangthong's Kawin and Datsakorn. Kawin needs to put in a solid, confident performance in goal, while Datsakorn will have to produce quality from set-pieces in and around the Palestine box as this may be Thailand's best chance for a goal.


TPL
Sriracha v Army (Sat)
Sisaket v Samut Songkram (Sat)
Khon Kaen v TOT (Sun)
Thai Port v Army (Sun)
Chiang Rai v Navy (Sun)

None of the True Visions advertised 'Big 4' will be in action this weekend. They have all been granted some respite to allow international players adequate time to recover from their trip to Palestine. The highest placed TPL side in action will be 5th placed Thai Port at home to Pattaya. Officially, no spectators will be able to watch this due to crowd trouble at the earlier fixture between these two sides.
Army Utd make the relatively short journey down to Sriracha. Both sides possess several Brazilians in their ranks and the winner may come from whoever scores the most goals between Sriracha's new loan signing Dudu and the league's joint leading goal scorer, Leandro.
The other Bangkok side in action is TOT. The travel up to Khon Kaen and will be wanting to make amends for the 2-0 loss they incurred at the Yamaha Stadium earlier in the season.  A win for the Telephone Boys would put some distance between themselves and Khon Kaen in the relegation zone.

Division 1
Chainat v JW Rangsit (Sat)
Air Force v RBAC (Sat)
Buriram FC v Bkk Utd (Sat)
Raj Pracha v Phuket (Sun)
Chantaburi v Songkla (Sun)
SP Customs v Chiang Mai (Sun)
Suphanburi v BBCU (Sun)
Saraburi v PTT Rayong (Sun)
Bangkok FC v Thai Honda (Sun)

There is a full schedule in Division 1 this weekend. The Buriram v Bkk Utd game will go ahead this Saturday. It was originally scheduled for this date but was moved to 10 Aug and then 27 Aug to allow Buriram's Sompong to play in the World Cup qualifier. The big striker is now injured and unavailable for international selection so the game was switched back to the 30 July, much to the dismay of the Bangkok United coaching staff.
BBCU have a tough, yet winnable game at Suphanburi. The Pink Power signed Englishman, Jay Harris, from Thai Port and the defender will be anxious to play after spending the first half of the season dormant in Klong Toei.
Mid-table Air Force Utd and Bangkok FC have both strengthened during the break, and will be expecting 3 points each from home fixtures against RBAC and Thai Honda respectively.

Division 2 (Bangkok)
North Bkk v Jamjuree (Fri)
NSRU v Maptaphut Rayong (Sat)
Nontaburi v Kasem Bundit (Sat)
Bkk Christian v SP Utd (Sat)
Thai Fleet v Raj Vithi (Sun)
Thanyaburi Asia Utd v Kasetsart (Sun)
Thai Airways Luk Issan v Globex (Sun)
Prachinburi v Assumption Thonburi (Sun)

The two form teams of the league meet on Saturday at the Thepsadin. Both Bkk Christian and Samut Prakarn Utd have quietly snuck up on the leaders and now find themselves on the periphery of the promotion race.
Nth Bangkok have a chance to make up for last Monday's unexpected home defeat to NSRU. If they beat Jamjuree on Friday evening, they will go top of the league. However, it will be short lived if either Raj Vithi or Kasetsart win their away fixtures on Sunday.
Thai Airways have only picked up one point from the last possible 33 available. This Sunday the will face a Globex team that have 2 games on the bounce.

FA Cup Results
Samut Sakorn 3-5 Songkla
RBAC 0-1 Loei City
Muangkan 2-3 Krabi