After snapping at the heels of the top six for quite some time, Tivoli Gardens could very well assume a coveted play-off spot for at least a week, provided they take care of business against struggling Vere United in one of three early Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) encounters today at 3:30 pm.

The west Kingston outfit, who currently occupy seventh position on 40 points, will be at home to the cellar-dwellers on 18 points at Edward Seaga Sports Complex.

Champions Portmore United, in fourth on 43 points, are also favoured to take three points off 11th-place The University of the West Indies (UWI) FC (18 points) in their contest at UWI Bowl, Mona.

Ninth-place Harbour View (36 points) will visit 10th-place Molynes United (29 points) at Drewsland Stadium.

Meanwhile, the day’s late fixtures will see third-place Humble Lion (45 points) welcome fifth-place Dunbeholden FC (42 points) at Effortville Community Centre in Clarendon, and second-place Mount Pleasant FA (53 points) will be at home to eighth-place Cavalier (36 points) at Drax Hall in St Ann.

With sixth-place Arnett Gardens (41 points) set to face leaders Waterhouse (53 points) in a tough Monday night fixture tomorrow, the door is open for Tivoli Gardens to capitalise and open a two-point gap on their neighbours.

However, the Phillip Williams-coached Tivoli Gardens will first have to do what is expected of them and steamroll the hapless and possibly demoralised Vere United, who are well on their way back to second-tier football.

For the pieces to fall in Tivoli’s favour, they will have to hope that Waterhouse can continue their rich vein of form against Arnett Gardens.

Tivoli Gardens and Vere United are yet to separate themselves, as both games between them so far ended in 1-1 stalemates.

Having lost to Tivoli Gardens and drawn their rescheduled contest against Harbour View on Thursday, Portmore United could return to winning ways today with an improved performance against UWI FC.

While Portmore United have won both meetings between them 2-1, it is often said an animal is more dangerous when wounded, so though UWI FC are also on their way to relegation, they could spring a surprise if the champs fail to produce the goods.

A keen contest is in the making between Harbour View and Molynes United as both teams are virtually on the same form line. Besides Harbour View’s recent three points against Vere United, who used an ineligible player, there is nothing much separating the teams, which means the points can go either way if not shared.

There is no doubt that the Humble Lion versus Dunbeholden encounter will be a humdinger as the Effortville band, who have won four of their last five games, is intent on sticking close to the leaders, while Dunbeholden are aiming to escape the attention of the chasing pack in a run for the play-offs.

With a two-match winning run under their belt the St Catherine-based Dunbeholden will head to Clarendon with their tails high, but should expect no sympathy from Andrew Price’s “Lions” when it comes to defending their turf.

So, it is left to be seen which team will turn their roar into a result on this occasion, as both meetings between them so far have ended in 0-0 and 1-1 ties.

Finally, Mount Pleasant have been in extremely dominant form at home while Cavalier FC are the ninth-worst team playing away, and that virtually sums up what is expected to happen in St Ann.

The Paul “Tegat” Davis-conditioned Mount Pleasant FA, on a four-match winning run, are heavily favoured to make it five on the trot, as Cavalier have been struggling with consistency and are gradually fading out of contention for the play-offs.

However, should Cavalier somehow upset the applecart and break the hearts of the many Mount Pleasant fans, they would revive their play-off prospects.

Today’s games

3:30 pm: Molynes United vs Harbour View @ Waterhouse Stadium

3:30 pm: Tivoli Gardens vs Vere United @ Edward Seaga Sports Complex

3:30 pm: UWI FC vs Portmore United @ UWI Bowl, Mona

5:00 pm: Humble Lion vs Dunbeholden FC @ Effortville Community Centre

7:00 pm: Mount Pleasant FA vs Cavalier FC @ Drax Hall, St Ann

Tomorrow’s game

8:00 pm: Arnett Gardens vs Waterhouse FC @ Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex