Big Match Preview - Game 1 - Kitchee v Eastern

After what feels like a mammoth summer, the Hong Kong Premier League finally returns on Friday and what a return it is - with the first game seeing rivals Kitchee and Eastern going head-to-head in a repeat of last season's title decider.

ABS Regular, Owen Ford, gives us his preview of what should a fantastic start to the season...

Picking up where we left off...

Defending champions Kitchee begin their title defence this Friday and will be looking to pick up where they left off by beating last season's runners up Eastern. With a promising pre-season under their belts, the 8 time champions look as if they are in a strong position heading into a champions league year and will be confident of another successful season ahead.

Friday's match will also be the first chance for Kitchee fans to see marquee signing Lucas Silva in competitive action after scoring in all but one of the summer friendlies and for Eastern fans to see their team managed by Szeto Man Chun after Chan Yuen Ting stepped down in the summer.

Tickets cost $120 for adults and $40 for students and elderly. Season memberships will be available pre-match at the Kitchee pop-up shop so be sure to get their early to avoid long queues.

Last time out

The last meeting between the two sides was one that fans of neither club will ever be able to forget. With just one point separating the two teams coming into the final day, Eastern knew that a draw would be enough for them to retain the title, whilst only a win would be enough to see the ribbons changed to pink and blue.

Despite the previous league game between the two sides ending in a stalemate, Kitchee came into the match all guns blazing and ran away the game - easily brushing Eastern aside. Kitchee’s pacey strike force of Fernando, Matt Lam and Sandro ran riot through Eastern's lacklustre defence and the Bluewaves cruised to a historic 4-1 win.

The match also saw two historic "firsts": The game itself was the first ever sell out at Mong Kok Stadium for a Hong Kong Premier League fixture and at full time we also saw the first ever pitch invasion in Hong Kong Premier League history. If we get an atmosphere half as good on Friday we should be in for a treat!
One to Watch...

Eastern have retained their star studded strike force of Manolo Bleda and Michel Lugo. Between them they notched 29 goals last season, so its difficult to chose just one for this preview. However, Michel's fractious relationship with the Kitchee Faithful, which saw him aim plenty of middle finger insults at the Angry Boundary Street stand during the final day of last season, means that he will be the man that most Kitchee fans look out for.

The 30 year old has been in Hong Kong for 4 years now and has reached double figures for goals scored in each season. Michel didn't perform the best in the matches against Kitchee last season but he gave the fans a glimpse of what he can do with a thunderbolt from the blue to give Eastern their goal. Known for his strength and ability to turn a game at any moment, he will once again be the main threat to Wang Zheng Pang's clean sheet.

Alex Chu will be telling his team to get into the Brazilian's face early on in order to try and with Kitchee fans unwilling to forgive his petulance from last season it will be an unforgiving atmosphere for Lugo. Much will depend on how he responds to this.
And for Kitchee….

Whilst Kitchee have retained their championship winning squad from last year, many fans were a little disappointed that Alex Chu was not able to add more players to his squad with only one signing . However, they have also recalled Christian Annan and Paulinho from loans who will add some depth to the squad and the message is that they will see how they are doing at Christmas and perhaps add to their squad ahead of the ACL beginning in February.

The one signing they have made is, former Tai Po man, Lucas Silva. The striker, who hit 11 goals last season for Tai Po last season and fired them to Sapling Cup glory, has been immense in pre-season and the Kitchee faithful will be hoping he can carry that form into Friday night. His strength and power up front is something that Kitchee have been missing in the past and will definitely add something to the team.
Prediction

Friendlies may not be much to go by in the grand scheme of things but Kitchee's dominant performances against the Macau national team and Yuen Long will give them confidence going into Friday's curtain opener.

As for Eastern, they will definitely be looking to get revenge for their shocking performance at the back end of last season and for them it will be crucial to go 3 points up in the race for the championship early on.

Eastern showed last season that they have the potential to be a rigid and well drilled side in defence but also explosive going forward. However, Kitchee's superior build up play and technical ability should be enough to break down Eastern's defensive qualities.