Undefeated Pohang and Shandong set to face-off
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 1, 2014
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Korean champions Pohang Steelers fought back from two goals down to share a 2-2 draw with China's Shandong Luneng in the AFC Champions League last month. |
Korean champions Pohang Steelers travel to face fellow Group E frontrunners Shandong Luneng of China in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday with the former winners looking to boost their claims for a place in the knockout stage for the first time since 2010.
Following their thrilling first encounter last month in Korea Republic, where 10-man 2009 champions Pohang fought back from a two-goal deficit to share a thrilling 2-2 draw with the Chinese Super League club, both sides are currently undefeated in Group E and only separated at the top of the table by goal difference.
And after seeing defender Shin Kwang-hoon dismissed after just 12 minutes in the first meeting, Pohang coach Hwang Sun-hong is expecting a different result and performance from his players at Jinan Olympic Sports Centre this week.
"I wanted to play good football on our home pitch, but we didn't thanks to being 2-0 down in the early part of the first half and also one man down," said Hwang, who saw his side record a third consecutive domestic win since the draw with Shandong after beating Sangju Sangmu 4-2 on Saturday.
"I'm sure we will play our football in the return match against Shandong. We have three games left in the group stage and this return meeting will be the most important game amongst the fixtures that remain."
The visitors will be handicapped, however, with the suspension of Shin as well as fellow defender Kim Won-il and midfielder Kim Jae-sung.
Shandong, though, have their own suspensions in the form of forward Zhao Mingjian and midfielder Jing Jingdao.
In the group's other fixture, winless 2013 quarter-finalists Buriram United entertain Cerezo Osaka, with the Thai treble champions looking to bounce back from their 4-0 defeat in Japan a fortnight ago.
"We have a possibility of collecting nine points at best from our remaining fixtures, and we play Cerezo at home in the next game," said Buriram coach Alejandro Menendez.
"We'll play with strong determination to win there and prove that we can play wonderful football as an attacking football team."
Cerezo followed up their comprehensive win over Buriram by gaining four points in their last two J.League outings with a goalless draw against Albirex Niigata on Saturday following on from an earlier away win against Kashima Antlers to leave Ranko Popovic's side second in the early stages of their domestic season.
In the West, winless Iranian champions Esteghlal face a must-win fixture against unbeaten Group A leaders Al Jazira.
Esteghlal did pick up their first point of the campaign last month after sharing a 2-2 draw with Al Jazira at Azadi Stadium, although Amir Ghalenoei's 2013 semi-finalists remained rooted to the foot of the table.
And in the return fixture Esteghlal will be without defender Hanif Omranzadeh through suspension, with midfielder Salim Ali similarly ruled out for Walter Zenga's Al Jazira as the Emirati side seek to extend their slender one point lead over Saudi Arabia's Al Shabab at the top of the table.
"We are in a great group with fantastic teams, and although we have played against all of them, we're just halfway through our mission," said Zenga.
"We haven't done anything yet since we have to play against all these teams again and try to achieve what we want."
Al Shabab will take on Al Rayyan in Doha after coming out on top of a rollercoaster match that ended 4-3 against the same opponents in Riyadh two weeks ago.
In Group G, table-topping reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande will look to continue their undefeated run with a visit to second-placed Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, who are just three points adrift following last month's 3-1 defeat in China.
Melbourne Victory find themselves level on points with 2006 champions Jeonbuk following last month's 1-0 home win over Yokohama F. Marinos, and the A-League side will look to maintain that momentum in the return match in Japan this week.
Visiting coach Kevin Muscat, though, will be without top-scorer Kostas Barbarouses and defender Pablo Contreras due to suspension.
Finally, in Group C, newly crowned Qatar champions Lekhwiya travel to Saudi Arabia to face Al Ittihad looking to build on last month's 2-0 win over the two-time AFC Champions League winners.
And Al Ittihad will be without captain Hamad Al Montashari, while defender Mohamed Musa also misses out for Lekhwiya due to suspension.
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