Port vs Kitchee

Chang Arena is the venue as Port and Kitchee go head-to-head in the penultimate round of the AFC Champions League group stage games.

Port’s hopes of making it out of the group stages are hanging by a thread following a return of a single win from their opening four Group J fixtures (D1, L2). Anything but a victory here will see the Thai outfit wave goodbye to the tournament as they head into proceedings after drawing a blank in the second half in back-to-back Champions League outings (D1, L1). Since being held to a 2-2 draw to domestic rivals Bangkok United in early March, the ‘Port Lions’ have alternated between winning (2) and losing (2) in their subsequent four home games in all competitions. Each of their last three such contests saw the victor register a shutout, which was the case in the reverse fixture that saw Kitchee claim a comfortable 2-0 win.

On the other hand, the visitors are on the verge of breaking into the knock-outs after winning three of their opening four group stage matches, with a 2-1 away loss to Cerezo Osaka on Matchday 2 being the lone exception. Getting off the mark first will be of the essence, especially considering that each of Kitchee’s three Group J victories were followed by a blank sheet. Away from home, none of Kitchee’s last seven competitive games have ended as a draw (W5, L2), with a narrow 1-0 triumph over Guangzhou in their most recent road trip halting a run of two consecutive away defeats. A tight, keenly-contested affair is well on the cards, with seven of their last ten away fixtures yielding a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals.