Match Preview - Kitchee v Southern - Kitchee look to start new year with victory amid Forlan frenzy!

Kitchee return to league action tomorrow taking on Kwoon Chung Southern at Mong Kok stadium. The Bluewaves' last run out was the Senior Shield defeat against Yuen Long on Christmas Eve so they will be keen to put that disappointment behind them. Currently unbeaten in the league, as a win will put the defending champions 5 points ahead of second place Pegasus who let slip a 2 goal lead against Yuen Long on Friday night to only take a point. 

Of course, the question everyone wants to know is whether, record signing and former World Cup Golden Shoe winner, Diego Forlan will make his first start for the team following his arrival in Hong Kong on Thursday.  The Uruguayan, who trained with the team for the first time today, has undoubtedly raised interest in the Premier League with all major Hong Kong news channels reporting on his arrival. Fans of Kitchee will be eager to see how he performs on the field knowing that his signature was the reason for both Matt Lam's departure to Lee Man and the cost of tickets being increased for the second time this season.  Other than Helio, Alex Chu has the full squad available to choose from tomorrow and so we would expect Forlan to only be given a place on the bench initially. 

Kitchee's opponent's tomorrow are Southern, who currently lie in 6th place in the league in what to date has been a very disappointing season for the Aberdeeners. Much was expected of the boys from the South following their 3rd place finish last season and so their fans will be unhappy that they have managed to lose 5 out of 8 games so far this season, with defeats coming against the likes of BC Rangers, Dreams and Lee Man. However, Southern have been something of a bogey side for Kitchee over the past couple of seasons (indeed, the Aberdeeners were the only team to defeat Kitchee all of last season) and so they will be hopeful of causing another upset.

We met up with Southern Ultras to get their take on the game:

1. After finishing an impressive 3rd last season, and at nearly the league's halfway point, Southern find themselves 6th in the League with 9 points from 8 games. How happy are you with how the season has progressed so far? Is this what you hoped for at the start of the season?Not happy at all! In fact, we are actually very disappointed with how things have gone so far! We made some great signings, like Zesh Rehman, and really thought that we would build on our great 3rd place finish of last season so we never expected that we would have just 9 points from 8 games!

2. You made some quite interesting foreign signings over the summer in Zesh Rehman, Carles Martinez and Carlos Rodrigues as well as picking up Chan Man-fai and Che Runqiu from South China, how have the new boys been getting on?Actually, of the signings, I just think that only Rehman and Che made great impact in the team.  Whilst everyone has been disappointing so far, the 2 of them have performed quite well comparatively! For Martinez, I think he has the right attitude and will go on to be a good player but at the moment he simply isn't covering enough of the pitch for someone playing as a defensive midfielder. As for Chan and Carlos, no comment

3. Marcos Jiménez de la Espada Martín never really settled at Kitchee, despite previously doing well in Spain, and soon moved on to Southern. He's scored 4 in 7 this season for you and notched 9 goals last season, why do you think he is doing so well with you guys but couldn't fit in at Kitchee?Marcos didn't not fit in at Kitchee because your style is different. You focus on passing and possession but Marcos is much better playing in a team that operates on the counter-attack and plays more of a long ball game.  Our style suits him much better, this is why he's doing so well for Southern.

4. I really like James Ha and think he could be a great asset to both Southern and the Hong Kong national teams, What are your hopes for him?

I like him too but he needs to remember to keep things simple.  In the first 2 seasons he really played on his pace and this helped our counter attacking style, it gave us a great advantage. However, in the last 2 seasons, he's started to complicate his game a little, wanting to show more skill and technique . I believe if  he goes back to basics, and focuses on his speed, he can be a killer!

5. What is your prediction for the game?
2-1 win for Southern! WE ARE THE SOUTH!!!

Angry Boundary Street are looking forward to what should be a competitive game tomorrow. We think Kitchee will run out 2-1 winners (a reverse of Southern Ultras' prediction) with Vadocz as first scorer. The game kicks off at 5.30pm - see you in Block 28!