Pahang captain Mohd Razman Roslan is confident there will be plenty of excitement and goals in store for Saturday's Charity Shield game between his team and Malaysia Super League (MSL) rivals Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) at Larkin Stadium in Johor Baru.
The Charity Shield game -- played between the winners of the previous season's Malaysian Cup and the Malaysia Super League (MSL) -- heralds the traditional start to the Malaysian domestic season.
The previous five meetings between Pahang and JDT have produced 16 goals and end-to-end football. Razman expects things will be no different on Saturday just as much as he expects his team to extend their unbeaten record against Bojan Hodak's domestic league champions. Pahang won three and drew two against the Southern Tigers last season with the Malaysia Cup final going all the way to a penalty shootout which the Elephants eventually won 5-3.
"It's going to be a sell-out. One thing's for sure, the fans can expect end-to-end attacking football," Razman told The Star.
There were rumours in the pre-season that Razman had signed for Selangor FA, but he chose to stay on with Pahang. Zainul Abidin's team have also retained all four of their overseas players -- strikers Matias Conti and Dickson Nwakaeme and defenders Damion Stewart (Jamaica) and Zesh Rehman (Pakistan).
JDT, who will take part in the AFC Champions League qualifying round, have also retained their foreign players -- Argentine duo Luciano Figueroa and Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Singapore international midfielder Hariss Harun and Brazilian defender Antonio Santos.
Hodak has also recruited Malaysian internationals S. Kunalan and Junior Eldstal to go along with his current crop of stars as they look put on a show in the regional and domestic competitions.
With the Charity Shield also acting as the opening MSL fixture, both teams will be hoping to get their 2015 MSL campaign off to a winning start