Singapore: Having sat out of the action on the opening day, Singapore will be the last of the ten nations to get their campaign underway at the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 as they host Myanmar in Group B at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday.

It’s the first regional campaign for Singapore’s coach Takayuki Nishigaya who suffered a blow on the eve of the tournament with star striker Ikhsan Fandi, along with midfielder Adam Swandi, ruled out of the tournament.

Despite those setbacks the Japanese coach is confident that the Lions can build on their impressive previous campaign, one that saw them reach the semi-finals.

“We want to go as far as possible, but it is key that we first concentrate on taking things game by game,” said Nishigaya.

“Of course it is disappointing that Ikhsan and Adam are not available but I want to demand that the team continues to stick together and play for them as well.

“Everyone understands that the first game against Myanmar is important for us to set the tone and, especially at home, we want to show what we can do in front of the fans. I want us to play together with the fans and win together.”

Myanmar, meanwhile, know that nothing less than a win will do after they saw a late penalty saved in a 1-0 loss at home to Malaysia in their opening clash earlier in the week.

Coach Antoine Hey will be hoping that his new-look side can build on a solid performance despite that defeat in what could be a crucial clash for Myanmar’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

Historically, clashes between this pair have tended to produce a winner with Singapore having tasted victory on eight occasions, and Myanmar twice, across the dozen previous encounters and that could see an open, attacking, clash as the Lions get their AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 campaign up and running.