AFC Champions League: Shanghai Shenhua Faces Perth Glory and FC Tokyo to Play against Ulsan Hyundai

Doha, November 30 (QNA) - Shanghai Shenhua head coach Choi Kang-hee declared he will not fall into the trap of underestimating eliminated Perth Glory when the two sides meet in an AFC Champions League clash at Education City Stadium on Monday. Appearing in the premier Asian competition for the first time, Perth have lost all four of their matches to date, leaving them out of Round of 16 contention with two group stage matches still to play. Shanghai Shenhua, on the other hand, sit one point behind second placed FC Tokyo, and remain well and truly in the race for a first trip to the knockout stage since 2006, but its a target which may slip out of reach by Monday night should they lose to the Australians. With so much at stake, Choi declared Perth a better side than their lowly position on the group table indicates. "If you look at all of their games in isolation, they are not a team which has been completely defeated in any game," said the former Korea Republic boss. They have competed until the last second (in every match) and then been defeated. Still, with Perth Glory, we remain focused on the current situation in our team right now. It really depends a lot on how many players we can use and whether our injured players will be able to recover in time. We still have to focus on ourselves in this game." Stricken by a lengthy injury list and player unavailability throughout the tournament, there is good and bad news for Shenhua ahead of Monday's clash. The important Stephane M'Bia and Qian Jiegei return from suspension after missing Fridays costly 2-1 defeat to FC Tokyo, but Choi revealed star imports Giovanni Moreno and Kim Shin-wook are still only partially fit, despite both making second half cameos against the Japanese side, and with Moreno finding the back of the net. "As of right now, they are still not in their best condition," said Choi. Perth will be hoping to add to Choi's worries. While their maiden participation in Asian competition will end in a group stage exit, coach Cristian Ola said his charges are determined to find a silver lining among the Champions League clouds. "Except for the fact that we are not able to go further from the group, which is obvious at this moment, there is absolutely nothing we will change in our approach for the last two games," said Ola, who is part of the Perth technical team led by Richard Garcia. In the second match, FC Tokyo's AFC Champions League knockout stage prospects will rely on the efforts of every player when they face group leaders Ulsan Hyundai, according to head coach Kenta Hasegawa. Their Round of 16 hopes back on track after a 2-1 win over Shanghai Shenhua on Friday, second-placed Tokyo now face the challenge of facing a red-hot Ulsan Hyundai side who have won all their matches in Doha and remain unbeaten in the tournament. In fact, Hasegawa's side are the only team in Group F to have avoided defeat against the Koreans. The teams played out a 1-1 draw in February, but the Tokyo boss believes that match has limited relevance for the one to come at Education City Stadium, saying his side must all pitch in if they are to challenge Kim Do-hoon's in-form outfit. "Everybody is a key player," said the former Japanese international. "This is the third game with a three-day break. Nobody is in their best condition, so we need teamwork. We have to win as a team. (QNA)