Merdeka Tournament: Causeway rivals to kick-start return of competition

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The Merdeka Tournament, one of the region's oldest football tournaments returns this weekend after a five-year hiatus, with one of the oldest and fiercest Southeast Asian rivalries; the Causeway rivalry between Malaysia and Singapore.

Harimau Muda are arguably one of the more exciting Malaysian sides, whereas the junior Singapore team comprise mostly the same set of players from the LionsXII side who recently captured the Malaysian Super League (MSL), and the envy of football fans in the country.

The Harimau Muda side for this competition will see the introduction of Sarawak's young talent Junior Eldstal, who had earlier even played for the senior side. They will also see the return of the country's hot prospect Nazmi Faiz, who had earlier been left out from the team after his acrimonious exit from Portuguese club Beira Mar. Alongside FC Ryukyu's midfielder Wan Zack, the two will most definitely be relied on by head coach Ong Kim Swee to steer the team's attacks.

Singapore will have to take advantage of their organised play to penetrate the Malaysian defence, who are prone to individual mistakes and meltdowns.

LAST FOUR ENCOUNTERS
Singapore U23 0-0 Malaysia U23
Singapore U23 0-2 Malaysia U23
Singapore U23 0-3 Malaysia U23
Malaysia U23 1-1 Singapore U23