Buriram face Guangzhou in ACL opener
Thailand league champions Buriram United today return to AFC Champions League action after missing out last year, expecting a tough Group G opener in Guangzhou.
The match will kick off at 4pm (Thai time) and will be live on Fox Sport HD (680).
Buriram’s best performance in the tournament was reaching the quarter-finals in 2013, while their previous trip to Guangzhou — in the 2012 group stage — resulted in an impressive 2-1 victory.
Buriram coach Bozidar Bandovic, addressing a pre-match news conference yesterday, said the Thunder Castle were keen to impress against Guangzhou Evergrande, the Asian champions in 2013 and 2015.
“This is the AFC Champions League so it doesn’t matter in which group you are in as all groups are difficult,” said Bandovic. The other two teams in Group G are Cerezo Osaka and Jeju.
He added: “Being the only team representing Thailand in this stage, you can expect us to play our best football.
“We have a mixture of experienced and young players and we are trying to have a balance in our attacking game and defence.
“We face Guangzhou Evergrande, the Chinese Super League champions, in our first match, but we have studied their style. They have a good attacking game. We are trying to spot their weak points.”
Buriram captain Jakkraphan Kaewprom said the team were looking forward for the game. “We had a good result against them the last time we played, so we will be trying to emulate that success. But they are a stronger side now.”
Guangzhou Evergrande coach Fabio Cannavaro was also in a confident mood on the eve of the match.
He said: “This is the first match of the year and we hope to have a good result.
“We have prepared for 6-7 weeks for the tournament. Every team is strong and we cannot underestimate any team at all.
“We have several new players in the team. They need some more time to adjust.”