preview - final 1st Leg; pahang rangers v selangor

Pahang Rangers host Selangor in Kuantan on Saturday in the first leg of the MPFL 2026 final, with the second leg in Shah Alam on 31 October. The final follows the semi-final rule: a side must win both legs to take the title outright, and if the legs are split the tie goes straight to extra time and penalties in the second leg. A first-leg win for Pahang would put them in front without settling anything, a position they know well after their semi-final with JDT.

Selangor arrive as the clear form side. Edgar Baldasso's team won all 16 regular-season matches, scoring 126 goals and conceding 24, then beat Terengganu 6-2 and 6-1 in the semi-final to make it 18 wins from 18. Marlon scored 30 league goals in the regular season,  and added four more in the semi-final first leg, while Syahir Iqbal has 18,  Evandro Borges 15, and Khairul Effendy 15.

Pahang finished third on 37 points with 98 league goals, the third-highest total in the division. Felipe De Souza ended the regular season with 33 of them, Rodrigo Da Silva with 20, and the pair have carried the play-offs too. Eloy Alonso's side beat ATM 9-2, then JDT 4-2 and 4-3 after extra time, Rodrigo named MVP in both semi-final legs. De Souza played the second half of the first leg with a bandage around his head after a clash with Andresito, and scored the winner in extra time in the second.

The league record between the two is closer than this season suggests. Of nine meetings, Selangor have won four, Pahang three and two have been drawn, with Selangor scoring 39 goals to Pahang's 34. Pahang won two of the first four, but Selangor have won the last three, 7-2, 5-3 and 5-2. The 5-3 win in June, with Syahir Iqbal scoring twice and winning the MVP award, was played at the Stadium Tertutup SUKPA and handed Pahang their first defeat of the season. Marlon scored a hat-trick, two of them penalties, in the 5-2 win in Shah Alam in July. Until June, every decided meeting had gone to the home side.

Khairul Effendy adds a personal edge. A former Pahang player, he has scored 15 league goals this season, including four in the 14-0 win over USM, and scored against his old club in July.

The balance of the two semi-finals suggests a contrast. Pahang scored 17 goals in three play-off matches but conceded seven, and needed extra time to get past JDT. Selangor scored 12 in two and conceded three. A crowd of 1,700 watched Pahang beat JDT at SUKPA in the first semi-final leg, and the atmosphere in Kuantan should be similar.

For Pahang, the first leg is the chance to get in front before the tie moves to Shah Alam. For Selangor, it is a chance to take a first-leg lead in a city where they won in June and to move closer to an unbeaten season.

The match kicks-off at 20.30 on Saturday 24th October, you can watch all the action on the MPFL TV channel on Youtube.