PHC might be defending champions but there is no question that it is Southampton Rangers who are the clear favourites to win the Belco Cup this weekend.The perennial holders, who were awarded the trophy for good following their fifth consecutive victory in 2009, have won the cup in six of the eight years that it has been in existence.Only in 2004, when Western Stars won, and last year, when PHC beat Rangers in a thrilling final, have the Southampton side failed to start the season with a trophy.Rangers open with a semi-final against Willow Cuts at St David’s tomorrow and, should they win, will then play either PHC or Bailey’s Bay in Sunday’s final at Lords.“We’re really looking forward to it again,” said Rangers veteran Janerio Tucker. “Rangers have been the holders the last few years, PHC did a good job last year of taking it from us. My team is getting ready. We’re ready to go and we’re looking forward to taking the trophy once again.“I just want to say to the rest of the teams good luck and do what you’ve got to do on the day and best wishes for the upcoming weekend.”Having won the Premier Division last season, Rangers go into the competition as the leading 50-over team on the Island, but PHC had their number on several occasions and Willow Cuts also pushed them close early on.PHC, though, have lost several influential players in the off-season, with Dean Stephens and Ricardo Brangman going to Devonshire Rec, and Fiqre Crockwell joining St David’s.Cuts too come into the weekend with injury concerns. Malachi Jones still hasn’t recovered from the side injury that brought his Division Two tournament in Dubai to an abrupt end after just three overs, while George O’Brien is also understood to be injured.That hasn’t stopped club president Kevin Fubler from setting his sights on taking Rangers’ Premier Division crown this season.“We have always known the full potential of our players; it was just a matter of becoming more unified and playing as a team,” said Fubler. “Qualifying for the Belco Cup has given our players more confidence in themselves and in their team.“It also shows that when we are focused on a goal and fully apply ourselves, we can achieve anything. Our hope for the season is to win the league title thus qualifying for next year’s Belco Cup.”Of the four sides taking part in the traditional season-opener Bailey’s Bay are considered to be the real underdogs. Despite finishing second to Rangers in the league last year, they don’t have a great Belco Cup record and were beaten by six-wickets in last season’s semi-final.As defending champions PHC could be considered to be the toughest draw Bay could have got, however the Warwick side have only beaten their Sea Breeze Oval counterparts once in their history.“We look forward to playing them. They’re the champions and I’ll gladly take the underdog tag for this match,” said Bay skipper Stephen Outerbridge. “From what I know they have beaten us only once in their history, they caught us at a good time last year but it has always been a good contest between the clubs.”