Morais opting to go with his strongest side against Kedah

The 2017 Super League champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) will end their league campaign with a visit to Kedah. Ironically, this match will also act as a pre-cursor of the Malaysia Cup final that will be played next weekend.

When they played each other at the very start of the 2017 season at Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium back in January, the situation surrounding the two teams couldn't be more different than where they are right now.

That match finished 1-1 but because the match was also classified as the Charity Shield match, a winner had to be decided and Kedah went on to win on penalties. That night it looked like Kedah were going to give JDT an almighty push in the title reckoning but fast forward nine months later, the gap between stands at a massive 14 points.

JDT comes into this match riding high on majestic form with eight wins from nine league matches, whereas Kedah's form have been choppy in the same period - winning four, drawing one and losing the other four matches.

For Ulisses Morais, the hunger and desire from JDT remains the same and they want to end another successful league campaign on a high. The Portuguese isn't looking too far forward and intends to add to the wounds of Kedah before the final next week.

"Our preparations whether for the final league match or the Malaysia Cup final is going well and the most important thing is that we have no injuries. We will face Kedah with our strongest line-up. We have 28 players of the same quality and all of them are the best."

"Like I have said, at JDT there is no first or second team. Maybe some will label it as a Malaysia Cup pre-final, but for me it is different because we want the final three points before the league concludes. As for the Malaysia Cup final, it is a 90-minute match that will be challenging because both sides want to win.

"A victory over Kedah in the league match will inspire and motivate every player in the preparation for the Malaysia Cup final. The final league match will surely be exciting with good tactical playing styles from both team," said Morais.

Under different circumstances, this fixture at Darul Aman Stadium could have been the title decider and be one of the biggest domestic match in Malaysia for a very long time. Things hasn't quite turned out that way but this match-up still has it's pull factor and there will be plenty of interesting battle across the pitch as both sides looks to gain a measure of advantage ahead of the cup final.