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Luneng play with ease, Suning face tough match at Asian Champions League

Xinhua, May 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

China's Shandong Luneng FC will travel to play against Thai League champions Buriam United with ease on Wednesday as they have already secured the knockout stage berth from Group F of the 2016 Asian Champions League (ACL).

A 1-0 win over Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima, thanked to the first half header from Brazilian striker Diego Tardelli in the previous round, was enough to book the Chinese team -- although three points behind group leaders FC Seoul of South Korea -- a place in the last 16.

Calling up a number of players from the reserve team, Luneng will be sending a young squad to Thailand, with their five foreign players all absent. Mano Menezes, Luneng's head coach, will not go to Thailand himself either.

"For the game against Buriam United, what I can say is that if the player has already received a yellow card in previous games, we are not considering letting him play in Buriam to avoid suspension in the next game," Menezes said, adding that those having played too many games recently will also take a rest.

Not having to worry about their prospect in the ACL at least for the time being, Luneng, however, are faced with harsh criticism and mounting pressure domestically, where they just suffered two consecutive defeats in the Chinese Super League (CSL).

According to a report by iqilu.com, a portal of Shandong Radio and TV Station, the players who were initially included in the list but didn't make it to Thailand might have been punished by the club for playing passively in the team's 2-3 lose to their CSL opponents Guangzhou R&F on April 29.

Meanwhile, Jiangsu Suning FC, which currently occupy second place in Group E and trace the group leaders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea by one point, will feel the pressure from rivals FC Tokyo of Japan who are one point behind further. Suning will play Jeonbuk on Wednesday at the K-League team's home stadium.

A victory over the South Korean champions will ensure Suning finishing the stage on top of Group E, while matching or bettering FC Tokyo's result against bottom-placed Becamex Binh Duong of Vietnam will also get the Chinese team through.

"We could qualify for the Round of 16 if we win, but if we lose, we will have to see what happens between FC Tokyo and Binh Duong," said Suning manager Dan Petrescu. The former Romanian star confessed that their game away will be "extremely difficult".

Domestically, Suning are now runners-up on the CSL table with one point behind 2015 ACL winners Guangzhou Evergrande, who were already kicked out from the Asian tournament a fortnight ago.

Evergrande will play at home on Tuesday against their Group H opponents Sydney FC of Australia with a squad featuring only Chinese players. The result will decide the top two finish of the group and consequently decide Luneng's knockout stage opponents -- either Sydney FC or Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds. Endit