The AFC Champions League (ACL) 2016 will have its second leg of the knockout stage's first round (Round of 16). On 24 May F.C Tokyo will face Shanghai SIPG from China, and Urawa Reds will play against FC Seoul on 25 May.

Both F.C. Tokyo and Urawa Reds will play away and these matches could to be very challenging, yet they are expected to move on to the last 8 teams, making the most of the advantage that they both had won the first leg matches.

In the knockout stage, the team who has more wins from the two matches will go through to the next stage. When more than one team has the same number wins, the team which scored the most goals will be chosen. In the case that more than one team are still in the same position, the team which has more away goals will go through.

Tokyo wants to save the goal

F.C. Tokyo is playing in this Round of 16 for the second time in 4 years, and on 17 May they won the first leg at home 2-1, thanks to MIZUNUMA Kota’s 2 goals. If they win or draw the second leg, they can go through to the last 8 teams.

If they concede any goals and lose the match, both teams could be in the same position due to the total number of goals, which means the number of away goals will be key. While Shanghai SIPG is expected to attack intensively, F.C. Tokyo has to defend their goal consistently and to score in this away match.

They had 6 days after the first leg and since there wasn’t any J. League matches, while Shanghai SIPG beat Hangzhou Greentown FC 1-0 in the domestic league on 21 May and kept their 3rd position in their league. This victory meant they could stop their 2 consecutive defeats in both the domestic league and ACL.

Shanghai SIPG’s Coach Sven Goeran Eriksson shows confidence judging by the team’s quality of counterattacks in the 2nd half of the first leg against F.C. Tokyo: “we have a second chance, anything can be possible.”

The team’s forward player Elkeson, who had just recovered from injury for the first leg, is expected to be fully recovered at home; he has already played throughout the mentioned domestic league match. Apart from him, forward player WU Lei, who scored in the first leg, and “game maker” Dario CONCA should be checked out. Another player F.C. Tokyo has to be careful of is left-wing forward player LU Wenjun; he makes chances having combinations with the mentioned Wu and Conca.

F.C. Tokyo’s Coach JOFUKU Hiroshi remains careful: “If we concede any goal and we can’t score at all, we can’t go up to the quarter final. We have to keep moving in the match.” However, the team has started this first round with victory the making most of their advantages in defence and good combination play, and this should be regarded as a positive aspect for the team.

The team’s forward player MAEDA Ryoichi contributed to the team’s victory by his active defence from the front line. He says: “apart from defence, I want to score a goal in the next match.” Defender TOKUNAGA Yuhei, who assisted the final goal in the first leg, expressed his passion: “we want to make a legend by winning the next match.”

The match will kick off at 20:30 (local time 19:30) on 24 May.

Urawa are expected to get the victory with strength

Urawa Reds got the victory of the first leg at home 1-0 with the team’s midfielder UGAJIN Tomoya’s goal. Urawa also has the opportunity to go through to the quarter final if they can win or draw the second leg. If they lose the match 1-0, extra time will be given and if they score and keep the score gap within 1 goal, they can go through to the quarter final.

On the other hand, for FC Seoul to turn around and move up to the quarter final, they have to win the match by scoring 2 more goals than Urawa Reds; it’s obvious that FC Seoul will attack Urawa from the beginning in their home stadium. They have 6 days to get ready for this match just as Urawa Reds does. This time they don’t need to have any oversea journey and can get ready in a favorable condition.

FC Seoul’s Coach CHOI Yong Soo achieved 100 official wins in the shortest time (197 matches) with the youngest age as a Korean coach last year. He expressed some bitterness in his face after the first leg and said, “this is not the end.” He showed his confidence to beat Urawa Reds at home: “we have 180 minutes for this knockout stage. Our offence is strong enough.”

The expected player from the FC Seoul is forward ADRIANO, who is the top goal scorer in both domestic league and ACL. He can bring the ball to the front line by himself and score many goals by sneaking into the space behind defenders. Urawa Reds will have to pay close attention to him not to let him go freely and to avoid long passes to him.

There are other players to check out. Forward player Dejan DAMJANOVIC was substituted due to poor condition, and he is expected to get recovered after a week off preparation period. The substitute player forward PARK Chuyoung has solid experiences in playing not only for the national team but also for Monaco and Arsenal. Forward player SIM Wooyeon, who joined in the pitch towards the end of the first leg, also should be checked out since he is tall and uses it to his advantage. Spanish forward player Osmar BARBA is a difficult player since he firmly breaks through the middle part and finds good chances to move forward.

Japanese player who formally played for Hiroshima, midfielder TAKAHAGI Yojiro says: “our play in the first leg wasn’t bad. This is a 180 minute battle so I’m taking it positively.” He seemed to switch his mind well for the second leg.

Urawa Reds will have to keep calm even away from home while staying strong in any competitive situation.

The team’s Coach Mihailo PETROVIC highly appreciates the players’ positive and aggressive play shown in the first leg: “the players kept running with strong mentality and that fact showed that Japanese are fit and competitive.” He expressed his trust and expectation to the players: “the second leg will be a very difficult match, but we will continue to play with the stronger fitness and mentality.”

Urawa Reds vs FC Seoul will kick off at 19:30 on 25 May.

AFC Champions League 2016

27 January 2016 - 26 November 2016

*Local time

More information