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Melbourne Victory confident of home win in the club's first ACL knockout match

Xinhua, May 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat is confident heading into his side's first AFC Champions League (ACL) knockout stage match, when it hosts Korean Powerhouse club Jeonbuk Motors at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Tuesday night.

After advancing from the group stage for the first time in the club's short history, the Victory is hoping to become the second Australian club to go on and win the coveted ACL cup after the Western Sydney Wanderers went the distance in 2014.

Muscat said aside from fielding a full-strength line-up for the clash against the 2006 ACL champions, his side was buoyed by recent results in the ACL despite a poor season in the domestic competition.

He said the team has an "unbelievable appetite" to do well in the round of 16 and beyond.

"It doesn't get much bigger than Jeonbuk. We can take away a lot of confidence in the way we've played in the group games. We've especially played well at home," Muscat told the press.

Muscat said a recent trip to South Korea to see the K-League side play has given his coaching staff a boost in confidence heading into the match, and said he was confident his men could match the hard-working and counter-attacking nature of the Jeonbuk Motors side led by coach Choi Kang-hee.

"I had a good understanding of their football club and their style and philosophy beforehand, and obviously going across there and having a lot of time to watch video and stuff has reinforced my thoughts on them," Muscat said.

The two teams have met twice previously; in the group stage of the 2014 ACL, the two teams played out two draws, including a thrilling 2-2 affair in Melbourne followed by a nil-all stalemate at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium.

The match will also serve as a farewell for veteran Victory - and Socceroos - striker Archie Thompson, as well as club champion Matthieu Delpierre and New Zealand winger Kosta Barbarouses, all of whom are playing their final home game for the club.

Melbourne Victory and Jeonbuk Motors square off in Melbourne on Tuesday evening. Endit