Bernd Stange's South East Asian champions were utterly outclassed by their hosts in Tianjin and the losing margin could have been wider if the Chinese were more clinical.
The Lions simply could not cope with the slick movement and quick passing interchanges of the China players, which Stange said surprised him a little after the game, but they will not expect to face such high quality play from Hong Kong.
The Fifa-ranked 144th home side come into this off the back of a 0-0 draw against Myanmar and Kim Pan-Gon will hope his charges can pull off a repeat of their 1-0 win over the same opponents back in June last year.
Guangdong Sunray Cave striker Chan Siu Ki will spearhead the hunt for goals as the 28-year-old seeks to add to his impressive tally of 34 strikes in 48 caps. Naturalised Ghanaian Godfred Karikari and Englishman Jaimes McKee will add to the firepower.
There are two other naturalised foreigners in the team, namely England-born Jack Sealy and Ghanaian-born Wisdom Fofo Agbo, who both made their debuts against Myanmar. They should get the nod in the Hong Kong defense again, with regular custodian Yapp Hung Fai the man to beat in between the sticks.
His opposite number in goal could very well be Hougang United goalkeeper Fadhil Salim, who will make his international debut if called upon. Warriors FC left-back Zulfadli Zainal Abidin could deputise for Shakir Hamzah after collecting his first cap as a late substitute against China.
Isa Halim and Fazrul Nawaz could make the starting line-up after missing out against China, while the lively Shahfiq Ghani scored their sole goal and will expect to be retained.
Stange opted to tinker with his formation and tactics against China, with the German looking to chart a new path for Singapore as he tries to turn them into a side capable of holding their own against Asia's best.
