ACL Matchday Two Preview - East Asia: Champions Of South Korea And Japan Clash

The eagerly awaited tie is one of the most high-profile games in the east zone, along with Tuesday’s Group E matches between Kawasaki Frontale and Beijing Guoan, and Melbourne Victory and Seongnam Ilhwa.

Both Jeonbuk and Kashima are looking for their second straight victory after the Motors trounced Indonesian champions Persipura Jayapura 4-1 away – with new Croatian striker Kruno Lovrek hitting a hat-trick – and the Antlers pipped China’s Changchun Yatai 1-0 at home through a Koji Nakata header.

Jeonbuk, who won the AFC crown in 2006 and secured their first K-League title last year, have since picked up four points in their first two K-League games.  The Greens beat fellow Asian contenders Suwon Bluewings 3-1, with Brazilian star Eninho bagging a brace and Lovrek scoring in injury time, before drawing 2-2 at Jeju United on Saturday.

 “If we win against Kashima, then we have a good chance of getting to the round of 16,” said Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee.

Kashima, who won Japan’s season-opening Super Cup, are also confident after beating former AFC Champions League winners Urawa Reds 2-0 in their J.League opener on Saturday, with Japan striker Shinjoh Kohrogi opening the scoring.

Captain Mitsuo Ogasawara, who’s in line to play in his third FIFA World Cup in June, is again available for AFC Champions League action after the midfielder was suspended for the Changchun game.

“It will be a tough match against Jeonbuk, but I feel we can pick up all three points,” said centre-back Daiki Iwamasa, another of Kashima’s Japan internationals.

Changchun, runners-up in last year’s Chinese Super League, will be favourites to take all three points when they host Persipura at the Jingkai Stadium in the other Group F match.

East: Group E

Kawasaki Frontale, J.League runners-up in three of the past four seasons, will be desperate for victory in their Group E clash against Chinese champions Beijing Guoan after losing their first match 2-0 away to Seongnam Ilhwa.

Junichi Inamoto, also looking to be selected for his third World Cup, set up Kawasaki’s second in their 2-1 win over Albirex Niigata on Saturday in his first J.League game since his loan move to Arsenal from Gamba Osaka in 2001.

The 30-year-old, whose previous clubs include Fulham, Galatasaray and Eintracht Frankfurt, will be a key presence in midfield against Beijing after club captain Kengo Nakamura broke his jaw in the Seongnam clash.

Beijing, who last year secured their first Chinese Super League title, will be looking for a second win after beating reigning A-League champions Melbourne Victory 1-0 last month, when Australian Joel Griffiths converted after a fine passing move at the Workers Stadium.

Guoan, who paired new Brazilian signing Otto up front with Griffiths in the first game, are looking to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in three editions.

In Australia, Melbourne will host Seongnam just two days after qualifying for their third A-League grand final in four years. After beating Sydney 2-1 in the first leg of the major semi-final, Melbourne were 2-1 down after 90 minutes of Sunday’s second leg before Archie Thompson converted from Kevin Muscat’s quickly taken free-kick in extra-time to progress 4-3 on aggregate.

Seongnam will be looking for a second win after their impressive 2-0 home win over Kawasaki, where former Colombia striker Mauricio Molina and Macedonian target man Dzenan Radoncic scored the goals. Molina bagged a brace and Brazilian Fabrizio was also on target as the seven-time K-League champions then beat Gangwon 3-0 in their league opener.

“We won our opening AFC Champions League and K-League matches last week and the team’s condition is good at the moment,” said coach Shin Tae-yong. “Our opener against Kawasaki was tough, but we managed to win, so I want to go through to the round of 16 as soon as possible.”

Shin, a former Korea Republic midfielder, also believes his knowledge of Australian football will come in handy. The Seongnam legend was assistant coach of Queensland Roar from 2005 to 2008.

“I have experience of Australian football and this will help us,” he said. “I’ve studied Melbourne Victory and will come back with three points.”