Nowhere to go but up. Jeonbuk Hyundai will aim for all three points against Kitchee SC.
Jeonbuk Hyundai will face Kitchee SC in the fifth match of the 2023-2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) Group F at the Hong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong on Monday at 7 p.m. (local time).
Jeonbuk currently sits in second place in the group with two wins, two losses and six points. They are tied on points with Ryan City Sailors (Singapore). Kitchee, on the other hand, is at the bottom of the group with one draw, three losses, and one point.
For Jeonbuk, this is a must-win game with the pressure of traveling. If they don’t win this game, they’ll drop to third place in the group and their chances of qualifying for the round of 16 could be in jeopardy. After beating Kitchee, Jeonbuk will have to prepare for Game 6 at home against Bangkok United (Thailand).
Even if they finish second in the group, they could still be eliminated, so three points are all the more necessary. After the group stage, the first-place team from each group (five from East Asia and five from West Asia) will automatically qualify for the round of 16, while the second-place team from each group will only qualify for the round of 16 if they are among the top three teams from each region.
Of course, Jeonbuk is favored in terms of objective power. Kitchee lost all but a draw against Bangkok in the ACL this season. However, Jeonbuk can’t afford to let their guard down, as they’re coming off back-to-back losses to Bangkok and Ryan City. They need to end their Southeast Asian nightmare with a convincing win here.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Monday, head coach Dan Petrescu said, “We played Kitchee in the first round of the group stage. It was the first game, so there was less pressure and pressure on us. Now it’s more important because we’re facing the fifth leg. The pressure will be less for Kitchee because they are out of the group, but it’s more for us. The players are well aware of the pressure of this match.” 토토사이트
Captain Hong Jung-ho added: “The players are well aware of the importance of tomorrow’s game and are preparing for it. We need three points, so we will focus and play well to bring home the three points.”