KUALA LUMPUR: Melaka coach Eduardo Almeida wants to maintain his good record against Selangor when his team travel to Cheras to face the 33-time Malaysia Cup champions in Wednesday’s Super League match.
Last season, Melaka created one of the biggest upsets in the top-tier competition by embarrassing Selangor 2-1 at Hang Jebat Stadium.
In last weekend’s opening round of the season, Selangor defeated Klang Valley rivals Kuala Lumpur 2-0 while Melaka turned the tables on former champions Kelantan by recording a 2-1 victory at home for Almeida’s eight win with the club since he joined last June.
However, both Melaka and Selangor will likely have to reshuffle their line up following injuries to key players.
Melaka’s Fauzi Roslan, S. Chanturu and Azmi Muslim will definitely not play while Selangor’s Rufino Segovia, Alfonso de la Cruz, Ilham Udin Armaiyn and Azamuddin Akil are doubtful.
A confident Almeida said he wants his side to collect maximum points in Cheras.
“Selangor are a good team with many great players. Yes, they may have injuries, but their strength comes from teamwork and not individual players,” said Almeida.
“It does not matter to them whether they have injuries as they have a strong squad.
“We also need to reshuffle as we have injuries. I am looking at players that can do their jobs well.
“We respect Selangor but we do not fear them. Our goal in Cheras tomorrow is to return to Melaka with three points.
Almeida revealed that they have done their homework on Selangor.
“I have a general idea on how we should play Selangor based on their game against KL.
“We have what it takes to beat them,” he said.
Almeida said the win over Kelantan has given his players the self-belief that they can take on the big boys in the league.
“Everyone is feeling confident and eager. We now believe that we can fight in every match and earn points.
“Our target is top five in the league. I think we will achieve it as long we remain consistent and injury-free throughout the season,” Almeida added.