AFC 2015

JURIC AND BULUT PRIMED TO START FOR WESTERN SYDNEY

Parramatta: Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic faces a welcome selection headache ahead of Wednesday’s AFC Champions League re-match with China’s Guangzhou Evergrande with strikers Tomi Juric and Kerem Bulut in contention to start for the defending champions.

Australia’s Western Sydney beat then defending champions Guangzhou on away goals in last year’s quarter-finals en route to landing a maiden continental title, but have struggled for form since despite last week’s 3-1 win over Japan’s Kashima Antlers in Group H.

And while Popovic’s side lost 4-3 to Sydney FC on Saturday, Bulut scored twice on his Western Sydney debut before being replaced by AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 winner Juric who impressed last week in Japan.

“It’s good, it’s a good headache to have. I’m pleased Tomi played well in Japan and Kerem was fantastic in the derby. Kerem hasn’t played football in seven months and once he and some others get 10-12 games under their belt you’ll see the best of them,” said Popovic.

“We’re happy to have that selection problem.”

Juric scored the only goal in last year’s quarter-final first leg at Parramatta Stadium before netting the crucial second half penalty in the return fixture as Western Sydney edged out Guangzhou on away goals following a 2-2 draw on aggregate.

“Most of the squad is there from last year and they’ve added some fantastic foreigners in their own right. We’ve seen similar strengths to what they had and the new foreigners, they’ve added different attributes in terms of individuals,” added Popovic.

“We respect them as a club and we’re ready for a huge battle. We’re confident, we’re the reigning champions we’ve started the campaign very well, we’re playing good football and we look forward to a really good night.”

Guangzhou began their campaign with a 1-0 win over 2013 finalists FC Seoul at home last week with new Brazilian signing Ricardo Goulart scoring the only goal for Fabio Cannavaro’s side.

“Wednesday’s match is going to be a difficult match and a really tough one. We have strong opponents in the Wanderers who won the Asian Champions League last year,” said Cannavaro, who replaced Marcello Lippi as Guangzhou coach at the end of last year.

“I spoke with Mr. Marcello Lippi about this team because he knows them much better. I’ve also watched this team’s matches this year and in the A-League they aren’t doing really well. In saying that, this year they are playing much better football as a team and we have to pay attention to this.

“We know very well what happened last year and I saw the match. We came here to play football, our match. We have the quality to win the match.”

FC SEOUL LOOKING TO GET BACK ON TRACK AGAINST KASHIMA ANTLERS

Seoul: Coach Choi Yong-soo has backed former finalists FC Seoul to get their AFC Champions League campaign back on track at home to Japan’s Kashima Antlers in Group H on Wednesday.

The K-League Classic side lost last week’s tournament opener 1-0 to China’s Guangzhou Evergrande(pictured) in a re-match of the 2013 final.

And while FC Seoul do not begin their new domestic season until Sunday, Choi is eyeing a first win of the campaign at Seoul World Cup Stadium against a Kashima side who also lost last week to defending champions Western Sydney Wanderers.

“In the last game in the ACL group stage, we had a very difficult away game and the result was not good. We only think about the whole season, not just one game, and it’s important for us to keep our style of football. The players also know what they did wrong in the last match, so I’m expecting a better performance,” said Choi.

“I think both teams are desperate for a victory, so it should be a very exciting game. We have prepared well to get the three points that we need.”

FC Seoul, who also reached the semi-finals last year before losing to Australia’s Western Sydney, secured their place in this year’s group stage after beating Vietnam’s Hanoi T&T 7-0 in the play-offs at home last month.

“It’s true our group is the most difficult one, but my biggest concern is last season we didn’t perform how we wanted, we didn’t show 100%,” added Choi.

“Even though we’ve lost many players, I want the players to feel part of the team by getting to the next round. I think it’s important for us to concentrate on one game at a time, rather than setting out an objective like winning the trophy.

“At the end of the day I want us to be satisfied by our performances. I think many people think we are not one of the candidates to win the tournament, but that is normal, and that kind of thing will pull our team together.”

Kashima also do not begin their new domestic campaign until the weekend having lost last week’s Group H opener 3-1 at home to Western Sydney after conceding two late goals at Kashima Soccer Stadium.

“I think both teams are going to start strongly. In the last game Kashima conceded two goals in the last five minutes against Western Sydney, but I think we have to win the game tomorrow,” said Kashima coach Toninho Cerezo.

“FC Seoul have many good players and all of them are energetic. When it comes to their midfield, there are many good players, and the balance of their offence and defence is also very good.”