Malawi Defence Force teams continue dominating in cup competitions but this afternoon they come under fierce opposition in the quarterfinal of the Presidential Cup.

Out of the eight teams that have made it into the quarter-finals, three are army teams, Moyale Barracks, Mafco and Red Lions.

Luckily, they will not play each other and chances are they might as well find themselves in the semi-finals if successful.

The three teams have a lot to prove as they play in the three quarter-final games with questions raised as to whether it is their large representation in the Super League that is behind their huge presence in the cup.

Zomba-based Red Lions are in the Northern Region where they face Malawi Police Service side Super Eagles at Mzuzu Stadium.

The soldiers are in top form and have not lost any game this season in both TNM Super League and the Presidential Cup.

Lions coach Collins Nkuna commands respect in Mzuzu having spent several years there as Moyale assistant coach.

But Eagles are known not pay any respect to anyone when on the pitch, Escom United can bear witness to this having been booted out of the competition by the cops last year in the same competition.

Moyale Barracks, on the other hand, head to Chitowe where they will host Chinkhwawa United who are equally a big threat.

The Chinkhwawa side booted out Super League giants Blue Eagles, who are Standard Bank Cup and Fama Cup defending champions, to fluff the Lilongwe-based side's chances of a treble this year.

This is enough warning to Moyale coach Nicholas Mhango who boasts of being expert at winning cups.

Mhango, the only coach to have won Standard Bank Cup twice, will be hoping to raise the tempo after two years of poor performance by the team following massive exodus of players.

However, much of the attention will be on last year Presidential Cup finalists, Mafco, who will be at Kamuzu Stadium against Escom with memories of how they missed the cup to Mighty Wanderers in the final last year.

With the Nomads already out of the competition, Mafco are the only team that went as far as the final and they will be gunning to take over the cup from Wanderers. They face Escom, who are still struggling to build a team after firing 11 players.

But recent performance in the last two games in the cup and Super League show that they are not a pushover in this encounter.

Fam competition manager Casper Jangale said today and tomorrow will be another action packed weekend.

"The competition has reached a level that no-one can afford to miss this action. We have seen how the teams that are deemed to be minnows caused upsets," Jangale said. "I can foresee another giant falling this weekend as well.

"This is what makes the competition very exciting and we are really happy with the performance of the small teams."