(Squad build and first transfers) On 18 December 2015, Selangor made announcement with signing of four new local players from Pahang, Hafiz Kamal, R. Gopinathan, Khairulazhan and Razman Roslan.

[3][4][5] New coach Selangor, Zainal Abidin then bring in new foreign players from Argentina and Liberia, Mauro Olivi and Patrick Wleh, to replace Brazilian duo Guilherme de Paula and Leandro Dos Santos, after both their contracts were not renewed by the club.

Selangor signs Patrick Wleh from PKNS on loan, while Mauro Olivi brought in as a free agent after the expiration of the contract with the football club Peru, León de Huánuco.

On the same day after the announcement of the Selangor's new coach, Afiq Azmi, Shazlan Alias and Syamim Othman left to join Malaysian Premier League club (second division), Negeri Sembilan.

(Second transfers) On 5 July 2016, Selangor and Australian centre-back Robert Cornthwaite reached an agreement to terminate his contract after a year and half with the team.

Selangor had to release Cornthwaite for reasons his poor form and constant injuries throughout the first half of the Malaysia Super League (MSL) campaign.

Azrif made the shock decision to join JDT though his contract with the Red Giants still remaining one and a half years and will expire at the end of 2017.

On 26 January, Selangor continued their winning streak at home after defeating Kuala Lumpur 2–1, thanks to goals from new foreign players, Patrick Wleh and Mauro Olivi.

As Malaysia Cup champions, Selangor began the season against the holders of the Super League, Johor Darul Ta'zim in the 2016 Charity Shield.

[26][27] Three days later, Selangor faced AirAsia in the FA Cup match, came away with a 2–0 victory, thanks to goals from Patrick Wleh and Hadi Yahya.

[32] Three days later, despite goal from Patrick Wleh, Selangor fell to PDRM 2–1 in the FA Cup third round, causing the Red Giants were eliminated again in this competition.

[33] On 8 March, in its second match in the AFC Cup, Selangor lost 0–1 at home to Tampines Rovers; the only goal scored from the away team came from Fazrul Nawaz.

On 15 March, Selangor flew to the Bangabandhu National Stadium to play the third match of the AFC Cup group stage against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi.

On 26 April, Selangor failed to seize the opportunity to clinch a spot in knockout rounds of the AFC Cup, after the match against Ceres FC ended with a goalless draw at home.

Selangor went on to win the match 5–2, with a five lone goals from Hafiz Kamal, Gopinathan, Nazmi Faiz, Razman Roslan and Hazwan Bakri.

[52][53] On 12 July after a long break for a month, Selangor start the Malaysia Cup campaign as the defending champions, with the first match against Kuala Lumpur in the group stage.

The supersub Adam Nor Azlin came to Selangor's rescue with a late goal at 88th minute as they won the first Klang Valley Derby in four years, to give the defending Malaysia Cup champions a winning start.

Penang's import player from Korea Jeong Seok-Min put his team in the lead, but Patrick Wleh levelled for Red Giants, with the match finishing in a 1–1 draw.

However, FELDA United hit back immediately, with Forkey Doe scores again to grabbing the winner for visitors, as Zainal Abidin' side slipped to their first home defeat in the league.

[59] At the end of the month, Selangor played its third match in the Malaysia Cup group stage, against Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium.

Selangor's losing streak continued as they experienced their first defeat in this competition; a single goal from Matthew Davies decided the outcome of the match.

The next day, Selangor officially made the decision to terminate the contract with coach Zainal Abidin Hassan, following the team's diminishing performance in the last four consecutive games.

[64][65][66] On 9 August after the dismissal of Zainal Abidin, The Red Giants continued their Malaysia Cup campaign in the fourth match of the group stage, and finally clinched victory after beating Pahang 3–0 at home.

[67] In the fifth match of the Malaysia Cup group stage, played on 12 August, Selangor defeated Kelantan 4–1 at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium.

[70] On 28 August, Selangor defeated PKNS at the Shah Alam Stadium with a 3–4 win in their Malaysia Cup first leg encounter to move closer to qualifying for the semi-finals.

[71][72] On 10 September, Selangor suffered again with a 0–1 loss against Pahang at home, almost damaged the hopes for Red Giants to climb up the third place in the league.

[78][79] On 15 October, Selangor made it to the Malaysia Cup final for the second time after beating T–Team 3–0, in the second leg of the semi-final at Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium, Kuala Terengganu.