J-League Champs Face Asian Survival Battle
Sanfrecce Hiroshima stunned Japanese football by winning their first J-League title last year but two defeats in two games have plunged them into a fight for survival in the AFC Champions League this week.
Sanfrecce have had a bumpy ride since sealing the Japanese title, finishing fifth at December's Club World Cup and winning the domestic Super Cup, but then getting off to a slow start in this year's J-League, where they are currently fifth.
Life in the pan-Asian Champions League has also proved tough with a 2-0 home defeat to Uzbek cup-winners Bunyodkor, and a 2-1 loss to Beijing Guoan, leaving them pointless and four off the joint leaders in Group G.
The early results have turned Tuesday's game, against 2009 Asian champions Pohang Steelers, into a virtual must-win for Sanfrecce if they are to qualify for the knock-out stages as one of the top two in their four-team group.
Hajime Moriyasu's side enjoyed a morale-boosting 4-0 J-League win over Shimizu S-Pulse on Saturday as they prepare to take on South Korea's Pohang, who are top of the K-League but also scratching for continental form with two draws so far.
In Tuesday's other Group G match, Beijing will break new ground when they travel to Tashkent for a top-of-the-table clash against Bunyodkor, the competition's first ever match between teams from Uzbekistan and China.
Sanfrecce against Pohang is one of four Japanese-Korean games this week, with Group E leaders FC Seoul entertaining tournament newcomers Vegalta Sendai on Tuesday.
In Group F on Wednesday, Urawa Red Diamonds host Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in a clash of two former Asian champions. The two sides last met in the 2007 quarter-finals, when Urawa eliminated the defending champions en route to claiming the title themselves.
But this time around, both teams are looking to keep touch with Chinese double-winners Guangzhou Evergrande, led by World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi, who host Thailand's Muangthong United looking to extend their one-point group lead.
In Group H, Korea's Suwon Bluewings will be looking for their very first goal, after starting with two scoreless draws, when they host table-toppers Kashiwa Reysol. Australia's bottom-placed Central Coast Mariners play China's Guizhou Renhe.
Uzbek champions Pakhtakor, who have played all 11 editions of the Asian competition, face Qatar's Lekhwiya needing to avoid defeat to stay top of Group B.
In Group C, Al Ahli head to Isfahan to face Iranian champions Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan, one of three matches between Saudi and Iranian sides this week.
Iran's Tractorsazi Tabriz and Al Shabab will battle for top spot in Group A, while Group D leaders Esteghlal will travel to Riyadh to face fellow regional giants Al Hilal.
Source: Agence France Presse
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