PFA Odin v USM: a six-pointer as USM bring rare momentum to the lower reaches

Two of the MPFL's struggling sides meet in Circuit 5 when PFA Odin take on USM, both clubs occupying the lower reaches of the table but arriving in contrasting moods.

Mohd Faizal Bin Zamri's PFA Odin sit eighth with five points from seven matches, having lost four of their last five, most recently a 2-5 defeat to Pahang Rangers. Their season has been defined by heavy losses, including a 1-10 reverse against JDT, and they have managed just one win and two draws so far.

USM, under Mohd Yuzmuhaimizee Bin Yaacob, have endured a similarly difficult campaign, but they head into this match with something PFA Odin cannot claim: momentum. An 8-0 win over Wipers in their last outing, with Izzat Aqiyudin among the scorers, ended a run of six straight defeats and lifted USM to seventh on three points.

Both sides have struggled defensively all season, USM having conceded 35 goals and PFA Odin 37, so goals look likely at both ends. Safiq Hamzah and Asyraff Zakaris have carried much of PFA Odin's attacking threat in patches, while Izzat Aqiyudin's four goals make him USM's man to watch. With early-season pride and a rare chance of back-to-back progress up the table at stake, this looks a genuine six-pointer between two sides desperate to build some form heading into the second half of the campaign.

The match kicks off at 17.00 on Saturday.