The Red Giants will take the first step in their TM Piala Malaysia 2021 campaign tonight facing Perak FC who will come as the visitors at the MBPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya at 9.00 pm.

For the record, in the group stage competition, the Red Giants were drawn in Group B alongside Terengganu FC, Perak FC, and Kuching City FC.

Unlike last year’s edition which only involved a knockout format, this year's TM Malaysia Cup format will start with the preliminary round (group stage competition), where the top two teams of each group will advance to the quarterfinals.

For the record, the Red Giants team once met The Bos Gaurus in the quarterfinals of Piala Malaysia and advanced into the semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate after beating Perak 3-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium in the 2019 season.

According to Selangor FC head coach, Karsten Neitzel, all matches are important but going through the first match with a win will give his boys a boost of confidence.

"We made good preparations last week. We did a video session for the first match against Perak FC for the TM Piala Malaysia 2021. The players are really committed to preparing themselves for tonight's match."

"For me, the first match is obviously a special thing and we know the importance of winning tonight's match. And that is the target of Selangor FC to get our first win in the TM Piala Malaysia tonight."

As for the players, Selangor FC will miss Syahmi Safari from the lineup as he is undergoing suspension after receiving a red card in the last match of Liga Super and still could not list Tim Heubach, the German defender who is still recovering from injury.

Another German player, Manual Konrad and Tauffiq Ar-Rasyid, the goalie are also added to the injury list.

Meanwhile, three other Red Giants key players; Halim Saari, Shahrel Fikri, and team captain Brendan Gan are also still undergoing rehabilitation sessions and are expected to return to the team after the end of the season.

Selangor supporters, however, can breathe a sigh of relief as Safuwan Baharudin is back with the team after missing in the last league game due to a minor injury.

Hopefully, Selangor FC can grab the first three points of the TM Piala Malaysia before traveling to Kuala Terengganu in midweek for their second game. Come on you, Red Giants!

Demi kebanggaan.