Final Second Leg: Key Battles

Pahang Rangers lead Selangor 4-3 going into the second leg in Shah Alam on Saturday, and the first leg showed where the contest is likely to be decided. These are five of the key battles.

Evandro Borges v Mohd Afiq. Evandro scored twice in the first leg, in the 8th and 39th minutes, and has four goals against Pahang this season: two in the league meetings and two in Kuantan. Afiq was named Player of the Match in the first leg, and he will face the same forward again in front of a Shah Alam crowd.

Marlon v Pahang's marking. Marlon has scored five times against Pahang this season, one in Circuit 4, a hat-trick (two of them penalties) in Circuit 6 and one in the first leg. He was booked in the 5th minute of the first leg and scored in the 34th, but Pahang's defenders limited him to a single goal. If they can do that again, Selangor will need goals from elsewhere.

Felipe De Souza and Rodrigo Da Silva v Selangor's defence. De Souza has scored in all three meetings between the sides this season, in Circuit 4, Circuit 6 and the first leg, where he scored from his own half. Rodrigo scored his first against Selangor in the 24th minute on Saturday. Between them they scored 53 of Pahang's 98 league goals this season.

The flying goalkeeper. Selangor used Mohd Khairul as a flying goalkeeper for the first time this season and conceded from it, the 33rd-minute goal that made it 4-1. At the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup, powerplays rose by 38.1% on 2021 while the rate of goals scored from them fell from 7.6% to 4.2%. Baldasso has to decide whether to risk it again, and Eloy Alonso has to decide whether Pahang use it themselves late on.

The benches. Two of Pahang's four first-leg goals came from players who started on the bench, Razin Rahim and Muhammad Syarifuddin. All three of Selangor's came from their starters. In the semi-final second leg against Terengganu, Selangor's six scorers included Faris Johan, Farhan Khairul and Aidil Afiqzam, players who were among the first-leg substitutes. The side whose bench scores first may decide whether the tie goes to extra time.

One more thing to watch is discipline. Pahang's Ahmad Harith was sent off in the 8th minute of the first leg, and Marlon, Evandro and Sirhan Aiman were all booked. In a tie that could be decided by one goal, discipline will matter.