Pathum United vs Chiangrai United

BG Pathum United will be desperate to return to winning ways when they take on out-of-form Thai League 1 rivals Chiangrai United at the BG Stadium.

Slow to recover from a fateful AFC Champions League campaign, bookended by a 4-1 thrashing to Johor DT, which condemned them to a bottom-place finish without a point, Pathum United’s form trajectory remains on the downward curve. Winless in their last four competitive outings (D1, L3), including two in the Thai League 1 (D1, L1), the hosts must steady the ship to avoid losing further ground on table-topping Bangkok United. Still only five points below the summit, albeit having played one more game, the ‘Rabbits’ remain in the running for only their second top-flight title. Much of the merit goes to their home form, even though a 2-1 defeat to Nakhon Pathom last time out knocked them down from a four-game winning league streak at the BG Stadium.

In the meantime, Chiangrai’s disappointing run of one win in their last eight league matches (D4, L3) has depleted their title hopes, leaving them a whopping 13 points behind leaders Bangkok. Scoring has been an issue for the visitors as they’ve netted under 1.5 goals in seven of those eight games, highlighting the significance of plugging holes at the back. With only two sides boasting more clean sheets than Chiangrai (5), it’s not impossible to imagine Gabriel Magalhaes’ side fending off a more heavily fancied Pathum here. However, conceding first would likely put this encounter beyond reach for the ‘Beetles,’ considering they’ve lost all three league outings after falling behind this term.