On Wednesday, we will find out who will be the last team to book their place in the AFC Champions League semi-finals when Yokohama F Marinos host Shandong Taishan at Nissan Stadium in Japan.
In the opening leg between these sides last week, the Japanese held onto a 2-1 triumph, as they remained unbeaten in the knockout stage of this tournament.
Match preview
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For a second successive away fixture in the Champions League, Yokohama started quickly, scoring seven minutes into their opening quarter-final fixture last Wednesday which proved to be just enough to claim a narrow victory.
That has them on the cusp of advancing into the semi-finals of this tournament for the first time in club history, as they are still unbeaten in this competition when scoring in the opening half.
Harry Kewell has yet to lose a match as manager of Yokohama away from home, with his side netting multiple times in all three of their encounters since the former Australian international took charge.
Earlier this month, they suffered their first defeat under Kewell, losing 1-0 at home to Avispa Fukuoka in J1 League action, though they have won three successive Champions League affairs at Nissan Stadium by a combined margin of 7-0.
Marinos have netted in each of their Champions League fixtures this season and have not been held off the scoresheet at home in this competition since the 2022 group stage (1-0 defeat versus Jeonbuk).
Yokohama claimed their first home victory versus a Chinese opponent during the group portion of this tournament, handing Shandong a 3-0 defeat on matchday six.
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The only Chinese side remaining in this competition have their work cut out if they are to advance beyond the quarter-final stage of this tournament for the first time in club history.
Last month, Shandong won an away fixture in the knockout portion of this tournament for the first time ever, claiming a 4-2 victory over Japanese side, Kawasaki.
Taishan Dui will be encouraged by their round of 16 triumph over Kawasaki, as it was the only time this team had ever advanced from a Champions League knockout tie after losing the opening game.
In the round of 16, Choi Kang-hee's men also became the first side from the Chinese Super League to lose their opening knockout fixture in the Champions League and advance since Guangzhou defeated Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2-0 at that same stage in 2015 after losing the opening match of that tie (2-1) and going on to lift the trophy later that year.
That was also just the third time Shandong had ever won an away fixture versus a J1 League side in this competition and the only time they have defeated a top-flight Japanese opponent in the knockout stage of this tournament.
Shandong have lost three straight matches versus Yokohama in this competition after winning their opening two Champions League fixtures against them, including a 1-0 away victory during the 2005 group stage.
Team News
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Kenta Inoue will likely be sidelined for Yokohama on Wednesday due to acromioclavicular joint dislocation, Hijiri Kato is questionable with a hamstring strain and Ryuta Koike continues to recover from a broken kneecap.
Yuta Koike and Shinnosuke Hatanaka, who have each previously sustained cruciate ligament tears, could both be unavailable for this decisive fixture.
Anderson Lopes has goals in back-to-back Champions League affairs, with the Brazilian scoring seven minutes into the opening leg versus Shandong, while fellow Brazilian Yan Matheus netted the winner in the second half.
It is unlikely Shandong will have Zeca available for this contest because of a knee medial ligament tear, while Liu Binbin is recovering from a toe injury.
There were two new faces in their opening lineup last week who did not begin their leg two contest versus Kawasaki, with Fernandinho and Matheus Pato replacing Xie Wenneng and Cryzan, with the latter currently tied with Aleksandar Mitrovic for the most goals in the Champions League this season (eight).
Chen Pu came on for Fernandinho in the second half of their opening leg quarter-final contest, putting Shandong on the board in injury time.
Yokohama F Marinos possible starting lineup:
Popp; R. Kato, Kamijima, Dudu, Nagato; K. Watanabe, Kida; Matheus, Yamane, Elber; Lopes
Shandong Taishan possible starting lineup:
Dalei; Zhunyi, Ke, Zheng, Yang; Guobao, Jadson, Yuanyi; Pu; Cryzan, Pato
We say: Yokohama F Marinos 2-0 Shandong Taishan (Yokohama advances 4-1 on aggregate)
Throughout this competition, Yokohama have shown tremendous composure at home, and we believe their overall scoring depth will be enough to power them into the semi-finals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
