In the fifth leg off the AFC Champions League group stage, Gamba Osaka and F.C. Tokyo hosted Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, both of Korea, respectively. Urawa Reds and Sanfrecce Hiroshima took on Sydney FC (Australia) and Shandong Luneng FC (China) at away, respectively. For all the teams, their games will be important contests with their proceedings to the knockout stage at stake.

Gamba desperate for win

Gamba have been winless with two draws and two losses stuck in the fourth place in Group G so far. They would certainly like to remain in the contention by beating Suwon, who are just one point ahead of Osaka, on the 19th, and bring their knockout stage hope to the final and sixth group league game. But depending on a game between the group-leading Shanghai SIPG (China) and the runner-ups Melbourne Victory (Australia), in which they will battle for clinching the knockout stage, there is a possibility that Gamba could get eliminated. 

Suwon are a two-time champion in the Asian club championship, which is the predecessor of the ACL, and are playing in their seventh ACL. They made the final four stage in 2011 and advanced to the round of 16 last years. They have also captured four championships in the domestic league. But this year, they have not been able to close the deals both in the ACL and domestic league, and ended up in a scoreless draw against Gamba in their ACL opener at home. Yet they have not lost in their last seven games.

Suwon have Korean National Team players like midfielders KWON Changhoon, YEOM Ki Hun and midfielder SANTOS. Especially Kwon has scored four goals in six games this season in the domestic league and scored a goal against Melbourne in the previous leg in the ACL as well.

Goals from their offensive corps led by USAMI Takashi and Ademilson, Gamba posted a win over Sendai in J1 League on 10 April, but fell short 0-1 against Kashiwa on the 15th and have not been able to get a pace yet. “We want to play with spirit and win at home!” Gamba coach HASEGAWA Kenta says.

Tokyo to host Jeonbuk

F.C. Tokyo, who took the first place in Group E with a win over Jiangsu FC (China) in the previous leg, will face Jeonbuk, who are currently in the second place by one point. Tokyo lost 1-2 at away in the same matchup, but if Tokyo wins or draws, they could get through the group stage depending on the result of the third-place Jiangsu. But if they lose, they will allow Jeonbuk to take the first place in the standings.

Jeonbuk, who repeated the K League Classic title last year, have been on top of the domestic league standings with a 5-1 record. They lost to Gamba in the ACL semifinals last year, but they have posted a pair of wins at home and taken two losses yet scored in all the games. Former Korea National Team forward LEE Dong Gook in particular has scored six goals while the team have other former Korea National Team players like forward LEE Jongho. Their Brazilian trio of forward Ricardo LOPES and midfielders LEONARDO and Luiz HENRIQUE are dangerous as well. Meanwhile, because defender KIM Hyungil were ejected in the previous leg, and former Kashiwa defender KIM Changsoo has been suspended for accumulated warnings, Jeonbuk will have to make defensive changes.

For Tokyo, defender MORISHIGE Masato has also been suspended for accumulated warnings, but forward Nathan BURNS has played well repeatedly creating chances, while he and fellow forward MAEDA Ryoichi have scored in the same game and they are expected to give some boost to the team. Based on their signature solid defence, they hope to capitalize on their scoring opportunities and wind up getting three points.

Urawa to play in Sydney

Urawa will meet against the Group H-leading Sydney FC away. Urawa are currently in the second place with two points behind Sydney and if they draw or better against Sydney, they could clinch the round of 16 depending on the result of a Pohang Steelers-Guangzhou Evergrande game.

Sydney have sunk to the seven place in the 10-team domestic league, but have won three games in a row since a 0-2 loss to Urawa in the ACL. Midfielder Andrew HOOLE will not play for accumulated warnings in this game, but Sydney are expected to come out aggressively taking advantage of being the hosts.

Urawa have gone with four wins and one draw in their last five games in the J1. Defender MORIWAKI Ryota won’t play due to a suspension, but Urawa have great offensive chemistry around LEE Tadanari, who’s regaining his best form lately, KOROKI Shinzo and MUTO Yuki. All the three players scored at least a goal in last weekend’s game against Sendai.

“We want to get through the group stage in the first place, so this game will be important. We have players with quality, so it will come down to how we arrange them,” Urawa coach Mihailo PETROVIC says, showing not anxiety of his personnel changes. Reds midfielder ABE Yuki says: “we play away and they have some momentum going in this game. It won’t be an easy game for us, but we should have chances.”

Hiroshima showing signs of recovery

Meanwhile, Hiroshima improved to six points with an away victory against Buriram United in the previous leg, following the second-place Shandong by one point. Hiroshima will have to play away against Shandong, but they are looking to move up to the runner-up spot by adding three points.

Shandong posted a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Hiroshima in their ACL opener and then beat Buriram in their following game. But they lost to FC Seoul at home and drew against the same opponents away. They have not been able to win at away games and been stuck in the fifth place with two wins, two losses and one draw in the domestic league.

Shandong will miss defender ZHAO Mingjian for a suspension this time, but they still have Brazilian forward Diego TARDELLI and Argentine midfielder Walter MONTILLO while they also have former China National Team player LIU Binbin and midfielder WANG Yongpo, who scored a goal against Hiroshima last time out. So they are presumably coming in an aggressive mode playing at their own turf.

Hiroshima need to play with composure. They won’t have U-23 Japan National Team forward ASANO Takuma due to an injury, but the team expect forward Peter Utaka, who has netted four goals in seven J1 games, and young midfielder MIYAYOSHI Takumi to come through.

Gamba Osaka will play on the 19th and the other three Japanese clubs will have their games on the 20th.

AFC Champions League 2016

27 January 2016 - 26 November 2016

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