Coach Mehmet Durakovic revealed that Selangor will miss three regulars for Saturday's Malaysia Super League (MSL) home game against Sarawak with a fourth potentially a doubtful starter.
Centre-back Mohd Shahrom, left-back Azmi Muslim and Brazil born attacking midfielder Leandro Dos Santos are ruled out either through injury or suspension. Right-back Mohd Azrif is battling injury and unlikely to be fit for the match at the Shah Alam Stadium.
Shahrom suffered a groin injury in the Malaysia FA Cup win on penalties against Felda United on Feb. 28 and is out for eight weeks and Azmi is out for six weeks after suffering an injury following a collision with his goalkeeper Norazlan Razali during the 1-1 MSL draw against JDT on Feb. 21. Leandro is serving a one-match suspension on account of three back-to-back bookings whereas Azrif is battling to be fit following an injury suffered during last week's 4-1 MSL win against PDRM FA.
Talking to ESPN FC, Durakovic said he has faith in the squad available for the Sarawak game as the entire team is on a high following back-to-back wins against Felda United in the Malaysia FA Cup -- when the Red Giants came back from 2-0 down to take the game to penalties -- and in the MSL against PDRM last weekend.
"Sarawak are a tough team and have a good coach in Robert Alberts. Their two strikers, Billy Mehmet and Ryan Griffiths, have also proven themselves internationally and in Asia," said Durakovic, a former Australia international defender who man marked Diego Maradona in a 1994 World Cup Play-off game. "It will be a huge game for our former Australia international centre-back Robert Cornthwaite as he will have to lead the defence in tackling Billy and Mehmet in the absence of the other regulars. But the belief is back in the team following the two wins and we'll play attacking football and try to take the three points at home."
Durakovic said that the Red Giants have plenty to offer in attacking areas in the absence of Leandro. "Andik Vermansyah has had an incredible start to the season scoring against Pahang and JDT. Ahmed Hazwan Bakri scored in the FA Cup game as well as against PDRM last week. We are all excited about our centre-forward Guilerhme scoring against Felda and PDRM. He played well in the earlier MSL matches creating a lot of chances but was unable to put the ball at the back of the net. With a couple of goals under his belt, he is going to be a menace for rival defenders."
Durakovic will be hoping that Guilerhme can score one more than the Mehmet and Griffiths combo in what promises to be a high-scoring game between two teams who both have five points from four matches.