DEFENDING champions Cavalier and former winners Portmore United will hope to maintain their momentum when they face Montego Bay United (MBU) and Mount Pleasant, respectively, in first-leg semi-finals of the Jamaica Premier League at the National Stadium today.

Both Cavalier and Portmore came through difficult quarter-final ties after drawing their first-leg games against Waterhouse and Racing United, respectively.

Mount Pleasant, who topped the regular season standings, and MBU earned byes to the semi-finals and will hope the break keeps them fresh for the final four.

The return-leg matches are set for Wednesday at the same venue, with places in the final at stake.

In addition to the title, the teams are chasing places in Concacaf club competitions. The finalists will qualify for the Caribbean Cup while the third-place team will advance to the Caribbean Shield.

Cavalier needed a late rally on the final day of the regular season to secure a play-off place, and now face an MBU team coming off three straight losses.

Cavalier recovered from a 0-2 deficit in the first leg against Waterhouse to earn a 2-2 draw before winning the return game 2-0 on Wednesday.

MBU led the league by as many as seven points at one stage but finished second, three points behind Mount Pleasant who beat them 2-1 on the final day of the regular season.

Before that defeat, MBU lost 2-0 to Treasure Beach — a result that secured Treasure Beach’s place in the league next season — and were beaten 4-3 by Harbour View.

MBU Head Coach Xavier Gilbert will hope his team can rediscover the form that saw them lead the league with 79 goals during the regular season.

Deonjay Brown and Ricardo Ramsey have been among MBU’s more consistent scorers, while Dwight Merrick remains central to their attack.

MBU have beaten Cavalier in their last two meetings but Cavalier’s Technical Director Rudolph Speid has guided the club to the last four semi-finals and will back his team’s experience at this stage.

Cavalier have added former Waterhouse Coach Marcel Gayle to their technical staff and will look to Christopher Ainsworth, Adrian Reid and Chad James to trouble the MBU defence.

Both teams have had defensive problems this season, combining to concede more than 80 goals.

Mount Pleasant enter the semi-finals on a four-game winning run and are unbeaten in their last three matches against Portmore.

After reaching the semi-finals in each of the last four seasons, the Concacaf Caribbean Cup champions will expect another strong showing.

Portmore were more disciplined in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Racing United, after surrendering a 2-0 lead in the first leg and settling for a 3-3 draw.

They will need another solid performance against a Mount Pleasant team that scored 14 goals in their last four games and have the league’s leading scorer, Raheem Edwards, in form with 24 goals.

Today’s games

•Cavalier vs MBU – 5:00 pm

•Portmore United vs Mount Pleasant – 7:35 pm