KUALA LUMPUR: With the Malaysia Cup draw done and dusted, all eyes will be on the mouthwatering first-round clash between Kedah and Pahang next weekend.
Kedah coach Aidil Sharin Sahak is expecting a nail-biting encounter against Dollah Salleh's side.
Last year, Kedah edged Pahang on away goals following a 8-8 draw on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Kedah, however, lost 3-0 to Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) in the final at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Aidil believes that the recent 2-1 loss to Pahang in the Super League was also a blessing in disguise as his players would not underestimate the Elephants this time.
"I think not only the players, but fans from both teams as a whole, are looking forward to this match," he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, Dollah said his players are ready for the Malaysia Cup challenge.
"Our performance was at a satisfactory level in the league, but we had no luck. I hope the Malaysia Cup will bring us luck as we want to become champions," he said.
Terengganu coach Nafuzi Zain believes his team will face a tricky affair against PJ City FC.
"I think everyone knows that PJ City are full of surprises, like how they put up a strong challenge against a great team like JDT, so it's not impossible for them to do the same thing to us... our players must be ready for that," he said.
Selangor caretaker coach Michael Feichtenbeiner said that the 33-time champions would consider various options for the competition, including fielding young players from the Selangor II squad.
He said that since this would be a knockout competition, Selangor would take it one match at a time, beginning with Melaka.
Zainal Abidin Hassan, meanwhile, wants to create history with Melaka by helping them win the Malaysia Cup for the first time, though he admitted that facing Selangor in the opening round would not be the easiest of tasks.
The first round will be played from Nov 6 to Nov 8, followed by the quarter-finals (Nov 12-13), semi-finals (Nov 17) and final (Nov 22). BERNAMA