With second-place Mount Pleasant Football Academy inflicting a second defeat on Waterhouse FC, Arnett Gardens now have an opportunity to also narrow the gap on the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) leaders, as they visit lowly Vere United at Wembley Centre of Excellence in Clarendon today.

In the other games, sixth-place Dunbeholden (21 points) will welcome cellar-dwellers Tivoli Gardens (12 points); champions Portmore United, ninth on 18 points, will visit seventh-place Molynes United (20 points); while eighth-placed Harbour View (19 points) and 10th-placed The University of the West Indies (UWI) FC, on 13, will lock horns.

All four games are scheduled for 3:00 pm kick-off.

Arnett Gardens, who currently occupy third position on 25 points, have seen a resurgence as they steadily marched their way up the standings, with only one defeat coming in their last six fixtures.

That record has placed them within touching distance of the leaders Waterhouse on 33 points, who were beaten 2-1 by Mount Pleasant in a novel Friday Night Football game at Drewsland.

As such, today’s contest presents a grand opportunity for Alex Thomas’s side to cut even further into the gap.

Based on their current form, Arnett Gardens are overwhelming favourites for three points, and a handsome victory for the “Junglists” would see them jumping into second position on goal difference ahead of Mount Pleasant on 28 points.

But promoted outfit Vere United, who have been struggling to clear the relegation zone, will have other ideas, as victory would see them doing that, even if for a brief period. They are currently in 11th position on 12 points.

A previous meeting between the two teams ended in a 1-1 stalemate, but with Arnett Gardens full of confidence and on the hunt for a third-consecutive win, they will prove hard to deny this time around.

The other promoted team, Molynes United, have found themselves in a difficult position, as they are now nine games without a win, following a blistering start when they achieved six wins on the trot.

Having now recognised that the top flight race is not for the swift, but for those who can endure the lengthy season, Molynes United, now under the guidance of Calvert Fitzgerald, are now hoping to repair the damage and stop their rapid slide down the table.

Despite going up against a Portmore United team, who are a shadow of themselves from the two previous seasons, Molynes United’s task will by no means be any easier, as Ricardo Gardner’s side is not expected to do them any favours.

In fact, Portmore United themselves are desperate for a win, having lost their last two games after previously going on a four-match unbeaten run. Such is the inconsistency of the champions that predicting victory for them has now become a gamble.

With the experience of their last season’s debut under their belt, Dunbeholden FC are proving to be more formidable in this their second season of top flight football, and if able to maintain their current form, could very well be thereabouts at the end of it all.

The St Catherine-situated team is currently enjoying a four-match unbeaten run and, given their confident style of play, they could very well extend that with the scalp of the struggling Tivoli Gardens outfit, who are seemingly comfortable at the foot of the 12-team standing.

Like Tivoli Gardens and Portmore United, UWI FC have also been a shadow of themselves, registering only two wins from 15 games so far this season, which has left them hovering just above the relegation zone.

While their opponents Harbour View are hanging two places higher, their form has also been lagging. Of their six losses so far this season, four have come in their last five games and another could put a dent on their chances of catching the leaders.

Meanwhile, tomorrow’s flagship Monday Night Fixture promises some amount of excitement, with fifth-placed Cavalier FC, on 21 points, locking horns with Humble Lion, who are just above them in fourth on 22 points.

Today’s games

3:00 pm: Vere United vs Arnett Gardens @ Wembley Centre of Excellence

3:00 pm: Molynes United vs Portmore United @ Constant Spring Field

3:00 pm: UWI FC vs Harbour View @ UWI Bowl, Mona

3:00 pm: Dunbeholden FC vs Tivoli Gardens @ Royal Lakes Complex

8:00 pm: Cavalier FC vs Humble Lion FC @ Stadium East

— Sherdon Cowan