WITH excitement around the just-concluded FIFA World Cup gradually fading, football enthusiasts will now turn their attention to club engagements around the world, starting with the local Jamaica Premier League (JPL) today.

For the first time, leagues around the world were forced to pause to accommodate the World Cup — and that pause is expected to cause major fixture headaches in the coming weeks and months as competitions look to make up for lost time.

Where Jamaica’s top-flight are concerned a full slate of seven games across five venues marks its resumption, with reigning champions and league leaders Harbour View (13 points) being one of three teams seeking to extend their unbeaten run. Second-place Mount Pleasant (11 points) and seventh-place Portmore United (seven points) are the others.

Harbour View are set to lock horns with 11th-place Tivoli Gardens (five points) in the 7:30 pm feature contest of a double-header at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, as third-place Arnett Gardens (10 points) and sixth-place Humble Lions (seven points) meet in the curtain-raiser at 5:00 pm.

Portmore United will engage in a St Catherine Derby against last season’s beaten finalist Dunbeholden FC, who are in eighth on seven points. That encounter scheduled for 5:15 pm will serve as the feature of a double-header at Stadium East, with newcomers Chapelton — in 12th on three points — squaring off against ninth-place Molynes United (six points) at 5:00 pm.

Mount Pleasant FA will be at home to 10th-placed Waterhouse (six points) at the Drax Hall Sports Complex at 3:00 pm. The other early fixtures will see fourth-place Montego Bay United (10 points) away to 13th-place Vere United (two points) at Wembley Centre of Excellence while Cavalier, in fifth on nine points, will travel to meet cellar-dwellers Faulkland FC (one point) at Wespow Park in the second city.

With four wins and one draw in five games so far Harbour View are favoured to continue their rich vein of form today as their fluid brand of football come face to face with a Tivoli Gardens outfit that is still struggling for form, having won one game with two draws and two losses.

Paul “Tegat” Davis’s Arnett Gardens versus Andrew Price’s Humble Lions always holds mouth-watering prospects — and the fact that both teams have enjoyed a fairly decent start to their respective campaigns should see both brimming with confidence for their return to action. The “Junglists” are sitting on three wins, one draw and a loss while their Clarendon rivals have two wins, one draw and two losses.

Like Harbour View, Mount Pleasant are so far riding high on three wins and two draws from their five outings and as such should fancy their chances of making it three wins on the trot. This as they welcome a Waterhouse team that has so far been a shadow of their usual competitive selves, winning two of their five games with the other three ending in losses.

Montego Bay has been displaying the character of a team that has applied the lessons learnt from last season, as their start on this occasion represent a significant step up from what it was on last.

They are currently sitting on three wins, one draw and a lone loss to Humble Lions prior to the break which snapped what was previously a tidy, unbeaten run.

By all indications the Donovan Duckie-coached team should return to winning ways today against his former employers Vere United, who are still hunting their first win of the season.

The same is for Cavalier FC, who also had their three-match winning run snapped by Mount Pleasant prior to the break. But like Montego Bay United, Rudolph Speid’s side are up against a winless outfit in newcomers Faulkland FC, and as such are heavily fancied to take all three points.

Portmore United, with one win and four draws, should be bent on protecting their unbeaten record but it will take some doing against neighbours Dunbeholden who are seeking to regain last season’s form which saw them contesting their first top-flight football final.

Meanwhile, the inconsistency of both Chapelton FC and Molynes United means it’s anybody’s guess where the points from that encounter will go, if not shared. One thing is for sure though, Lenworth “Teacha” Hyde’s brand of football should cause some problems for Alex Thomas and his Molynes United team.

Today’s games

3:00 pm — Mount Pleasant vs Waterhouse FC @ Drax Hall

3:00 pm — Cavalier FC vs Faulkland FC @ Wespow Park

3:00 pm — Vere United vs Montego Bay United @ Wembley Centre of Excellence

5:00 pm — Arnett Gardens vs Humble Lions @ Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex

5:00 pm — Chapelton FC vs Molynes United @ Stadium East

7:30 pm — Tivoli Gardens vs Harbour View @ Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex

5:15 pm — Portmore United vs Dunbeholden FC @ Stadium East