Johor Darul Ta'zim travel to Cambodia to take on Boeung Ket Angkor in their penultimate Group F match of 2017 AFC Cup at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.
The former champions (2015) need nothing less than a win in their next two matches as they are in risk of crashing out of the tournament. With two wins from four games, JDT are placed second in the group with seven points, two behind leaders Global FC. Notably, only the group-winners and the best-placed runner-up from the three Asean groups will make the zonal semi-final.
On the other hand, Boeung Ket face an uphill task with only four points from four games so far.
Benjamin Mora's side will fancy their chances tomorrow as they had comfortably beaten Boeung Ket 3-0 in their early-season meeting. The Southern Tigers are also high on confidence after regaining the top-spot in Malaysia Super League with a six-match winning streak.
The Malaysian giants have also scored 12 goals in their last three matches with skipper Safiq Rahim scoring five of them. The former international has hit peak form and his combination with Argentine imports Gabriel Guerra and Gonzalo Cabrera has been a big boost to the team in the recent matches.
Mora will have no second thoughts about including Rahim, whom he had dropped from the starting line-up during their 3-2 loss to Global earlier this month. The coach has also rotated his players well as the team has played three games in the last 10 days and are heading into tomorrow's tie after Saturday's 2-1 league win over PKNS.
On the other hand, Boeung Ket are facing an uphill task despite playing at home. A 4-0 win over league rivals Electricite du Cambodge on Saturday would have boosted their morale but the C League side have only scored twice in their AFC Cup campaign so far and they seem to lack firepower to stop in-form JDT.
Team News
Boeung Ket
Possible XI: Yaty; Vesley, Mizuno, Sovan, Sovanrithy; Muramatsu, Maycon, Sothearath, Mizan, Pencharong; Yamoin
JDT
Possible XI: Tarmizi; Nasrulhaq, Antonio, Zafuan, Fazly; Safiq, Ferreira, Amirulhadi, Guerra, Cabrera; Hazwan
