THE Philippine Azkals will battle the Singapore Lions in the first leg of their semifinals match in the 2012 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium at 8:30 p.m. tonight.

The Azkals beat Vietnam (1-0) and Myanmar (2-0) in the group stage. A win by the Azkals will give them an advantage heading to the second leg of their semifinal match against the Lions in Singapore on December 12 at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore.

But Singapore, under Serbian coach Radojko Avramovic, is expected to come back strong against the Philippine squad who beat them 2-0 in two recent friendly matches. Singapore will be led by team captain Shahril Ishak and striker Aleksandar Duric.

“Friendly matches are different from a match in the Suzuki Cup,” said Azkals’ German coach Hans Michael Weiss. “We need to play smarter, stronger than them. We can’t allow them to win in our own home turf.”

Weiss will be banking on the prowess of team captain Chieffy Caligdong, brothers Phil and James Younghusband, Angel Guirado and goalkeeper Eduard Sacapano in beating the Singaporeans.