GROUP H: GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE V SYDNEY FC PREVIEW

Guangzhou: Coach Graham Arnold insisted his Sydney FC side would be in for a tough test on Tuesday at Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium when they face off against last year's AFC Champions League winners Guangzhou Evergrande, with three points enough to put the table topping A-League side into the last 16 as Group H winners.

Having already secured a first-ever Round of 16 place a fortnight ago following their goalless draw with second placed Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan, Arnold's side will now face-off against the holders who suffered an early exit from the competition in Matchday Five.

And as long as Sydney match or better the result Urawa post against Korea Republic's Pohang Steelers in Saitama, then the Australians will win the group, although forward Matt Simon will play no part in the game against Guangzhou due to a one-match suspension.  

"It will be a difficult match as I still consider Guangzhou, despite their performance in this year's competition, to be one of the best teams in Asia," said Arnold.

"We didn't expect to be in first place at this point in the group stage as all the teams in this group are very strong.

"But we'll be looking to get victory and I'll be preparing my players to get all three points."

Home side Guangzhou, meanwhile, will be without suspended Brazil midfielder Paulinho and will have further adjustments in the line-up with Luiz Felipe Scolari pledging to give some of the club's rising young stars game time.

"Players like Liao Lisheng, Li Yuanyi and Xu Xin deserve the opportunity to play in the AFC Champions League and I think they are very important for the future of the team," said Scolari, whose side lead their domestic standings after they defeated Shanghai Shenhua 2-1 on Saturday in the Chinese Super League.

There will be a familiar face wearing the captain's armband, however, as China midfielder Zheng Zhi will step onto the pitch for his 200th game in Guangzhou colours.

"It is Zheng Zhi's 200th game and it is my honour to have him lead out my side tomorrow," added Scolari of the man who has twice lifted the AFC Champions League title in 2013 and 2015.

"Guangdong football learns a lot from Zheng Zhi and in the future he will help football to grow here."

Asian Champions League: Sydney FC need to cope with huge Guangzhou Evergrande incentive

IT’S the $500,000 challenge standing between Sydney FC and a table-topping victory in the Asian Champions League.

The Sky Blues face fallen champions Guangzhou Evergrande in the final game of Group H on Tuesday night knowing victory would see them finish top of the ladder.

But incredibly Guangzhou - even though they are already eliminated and won’t play their foreign stars - stand to earn a win bonus of US$40,000 per man if they defeat Sydney, a combined windfall of more than A$500,000 that demonstrates once more the financial backing behind leading Chinese clubs.

Adding to the challenge for Sydney coach Graham Arnold, five of his senior players are carrying one yellow card into the game - meaning a second would rule David Carney, Shane Smeltz, Matthew Jurman, Seb Ryall and Vedran Janjetovic out of the first leg of the round of 16 later this month.

Arnold admitted he had to gauge the “head space” of the quintet, as he plots a result that could further assuage the disappointment of Sydney’s miserable A-League campaign.

Victory would commit Sydney to a round of 16 clash with Shandong Luneng, 12th in the Chinese Super League, while a loss - coupled with a win for Urawa Red Diamonds over Pohang Steelers - would see Sydney take on 2013 ACL runners up FC Seoul.

Arnold predicted that Guangzhou would be without stars Jackson Martínez, Paulinho and Ricardo Goulart through injury and suspension - but pointed to the size of bonus on offer to illuminate Sydney’s challenge.

“As the current Asian champions, they’ll be hurting that they haven’t got out of the group,” he said of a side coached by former World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari.

“But my biggest concern is the number of players we’ve got on yellow cards who will miss the first leg of the round of 16 if they get another one.

Sydney will be looking to end their group campaign on a high.Source: Getty Images

“I have to decide whether to take the risk, or play others who don’t have that hanging over them. Our first goal this season was to get to the round of 16, and we don’t want to go into that hampered by the loss of senior players if we can help it.

“They’re all important for us, though the defenders seem to be the biggest risk by definition. We’ll have to see where their head space is before we make a final decision.”

Despite the quandary, Arnold - who is without only Matthew Simon through suspension as well as long-term absentee Alex Brosque - said he had no regrets about releasing Mickael Tavares and Ali Abbas to seek contracts elsewhere.

“We didn’t expect Ali to go, we’d offered him a one-year extension but we couldn’t compete money-wise (with a deal believed to be in Korea). He’s at an age where he’s starting to worry about life after football and I’m happy for him that he’s been able to secure an opportunity like this.”