Devonport goalie Joshua Smith in action last year.
HUDSON CUP GAMES
Prospect Knights v Northern Rangers at 11am
Devonport City v Launceston City at 1pm
South Hobart v Tilford Zebras at 3pm
Riverside Olympic v Launceston United at 2pm (ground two)
STATEWIDE CUP GAMES
Launceston City v Riverside Olympic at Mitsubishi Park (2pm)
Kingborough Lions v Tilford Zebras at Lightwood Park (2pm)
Taroona v Somerset at Kelvedon Park (noon)
University v Olympia at Olinda Grove (2pm)
Devonport City v Northern Rangers at Valley Road (3pm)
Prospect Knights v Glenorchy Knights at Prospect Park (3pm)
South Hobart v New Town Eagles at South Hobart (2pm)
Ulverstone v Clarence at Valley Road (1pm)
A long weekend of soccer lies ahead with Steve Hudson Cup semi finals tomorrow and Statewide Cup round of 16 matches on Monday.
In the Hudson Cup, Devonport City coach Chris McKenna will effectively play his Northern Premier League side against fellow Victory League team Launceston City as he prepares for Monday's statewide cup clash against Northern Rangers.
``We're keen to win it of course but we see Monday's game as being more important and we don't want to double up,'' he said. ``We will have some fairly young guys who played under-18s for us last year and will be in our reserves side this year.''
Launceston City coach Dane Hudson expected a very tough game against the Strikers who have plenty of scoring options.
``We will have to limit their speed going forward and create enough chances of our own to win the game,'' he said. ``This game is another opportunity for us to see where we stand on the Victory League stage.''
Prospect Knights has a side relatively unchanged from last week against Northern Rangers' NPL side. Rangers coach Col Nicholson said, with most of last year's players on Victory League duties, he was fielding a young inexperienced team this season.
``We are looking at ths weekend's game against Prospect as an opportunity for the team to play together against a tougher, more experienced team in order to prepare them for the season ahead,'' he said. ``Whilst our team is young, I expect them to play some good football and to improve each time they play.''
Riverside Olympic is hoping for a better results than last week's 8-0 loss to South Hobart when it plays Launceston United.
United coach Robert Murray said with the club needing to field teams on Monday, the Hudson Cup line up would comprise mostly older players.
``We haven't played Riverside since the introduction of the Victory League and we've both lost a few players,'' Murray said. ``From what I've seen they knock the ball around well and protect it so we could be up against it.''
Hobart sides South Hobart and Tilford Zebras play the last match of the day, in a game between two sides favourite to take out the inaugural Victory League.
In the Statewide Cup on Monday, the match of the round for Northern fans is between Devonport City and Northern Rangers.
Northern Rangers spokesman Brendan Lichtendonk said the players were looking forward to their first real hit out against a Victory League opponent.
``It's an early start to competitive football, but we think we are as well prepared as we can be,'' he said. ``Devonport are always hard to beat at home, but we will work on their weak points, and be wary of where we believe they will look to win the game from, control these two parts of Devonport, and we know we can beat them.''