IT will be a special Malaysia Cup this year.
The tournament will be celebrating its centenary milestone later this month after surviving Covid-19. Last year, the Malaysia Cup had to be called off after just one round due to the virus.
As expected, defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) are the favourites to win it again after successfully retaining their Super League title for the eighth time this year.
Super League runners-up Kedah, Penang and Terengganu are the other contenders.
JDT are drawn in Group D with PJ City, Sabah and the fourth-placed team in the Premier League.
JDT coach Benjamin Mora said his team want to end the season with another silverware this season.
"We will see how it goes in the Malaysia Cup. We want to win another trophy after a successful Super League campaign," said Mora.
"We will do our best in this competition. We need to be ready as we are aware that other teams will be out to beat us."
Five-time champions Kedah are in Group C with Melaka United and the teams who will finish first and fifth in the Premier League.
Under coach Aidil Sharin Sahak, they are eager to make amends after their 3-0 defeat to JDT in the 2019 final.
Penang, who surprised their rivals by finishing third on their return to the Super League, are in Group A with KL City, Sri Pahang and the Premier League runners-up.
The Red Eagles and the Panthers should qualify for the quarter-finals from their groups.
Terengganu, meanwhile, who hope to end their drought in the Malaysia Cup, will face Perak, Selangor and the third-placed team in the Premier League in Group B.
Coach Nafuzi Zain, who was the assistant coach when the Turtles lost to Perak in the 2018 final, hopes to lead his team to glory this season.
"We are in a tough group. Selangor are the most successful team in the Malaysia Cup, and they will be motivated to make an impression.
"Perak will certainly want to make amends after getting relegated from the Super League this year.
"We did not end our Super League campaign well, so we hope to do better in this competition. Our first target is to reach the quarter-finals," said Nafuzi.
The five Premier League qualifiers for the Malaysia Cup will be finalised on Sept 21. Negri Sembilan and Sarawak United have booked their berths with Police, Kuching City, Kelantan and Kelantan United vying for the remaining three slots.
The Malaysia Cup starts on Sept 25 with the group matches, followed by the two-legged quarter-finals on Nov 14-18 and the two-legged semi-finals on Nov 22-26.
The final will be hosted at a neutral venue on Nov 30.
