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Stadium: Mong Kok Stadium, Hong KongKick-off: Tuesday, February 26, 17:30 IST
Home Advantage
The Hong Kong treble winners start their campaign at home and will be favourites to make a winning start mainly because of their experience in the AFC Cup. Kitchee have retained almost the same team that won three trophies last season and reached the round of 16 of the AFC Cup and will fancy their chances against a new-look Churchill Brothers outfit. Kitchee’s quest for a hat-trick of domestic league titles is not going according to plan as they are four points behind league leaders South China with six rounds to go but they are yet to host South China at home so that clash could prove to be decisive.
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Due to the presence of Spanish head coach Joseph Gombau, Kitchee have a strong Spanish influence with former Spanish youth international striker Pablo Counago also in their ranks. But the Hong Kong club also have a strong group of local players while former EPL defender Zesh Rehman, who is a Pakistan international, is their most famous player. Kitchee will be determined not to drop any points at home but will have to guard against complacency and fatigue could also be a factor as they played a league match on Sunday, winning 2-0 at Tuen Mun SA. Anything less than a win will be a disappointing result for Kitchee.
Second Appearance
This will be Churchill Brothers’ second appearance in the AFC Cup, having played in the 2010 edition when they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Kuwait’s Al Qadsia. The Goan club were originally not supposed to be in the competition but they were given a slot after the withdrawal of I-League champions Dempo. Churchill will be happy to repeat the 2010 showing but it remains to be seen whether technical director Subhas Bhowmick and his coaching staff take this tournament seriously as they are very much in contention to win the I-League and recent history suggests teams that play in the AFC Cup don’t win the Indian domestic league.
Churchill lost both Lebanese internationals Bilal Najjarin and Akram Moghrabi in the winter transfer window but made three new signings with the loan deal of India captain Sunil Chhetri from Sporting Lisbon ‘B’ making the biggest headlines. Unlike Kitchee, Churchill haven’t been in action in the domestic league although they did play in the Goa League on Thursday. Thus, one would expect the third-placed team in last season’s I-League to be much fresher but the new recruits could take time to settle, while travelling will also take a lot out of the Churchill squad. The 2008-09 I-League champions will be without the services of their influential Brazilian playmaker Beto due to injury while new signing Balal Arezou is also unavailable as he is on international duty with Afghanistan. So on paper, Churchill are certainly second best and thus would happily settle for a draw.
Form Guide
Kitchee SC: WDLWW
The Hong Kong outfit have had a mixed run of form recently and have been poor at home with just one win in five matches. They will be aiming to change that against Churchill Brothers as good home form is pivotal for a successful AFC Cup campaign.
Churchill Brothers: WDLDW
Churchill Brothers were on an impressive winning run which included a 3-0 victory away at fellow title contenders East Bengal but have managed just one win in the last four games which came against a second string Dempo side in the Goa League.
Key Men
Kitchee SC: Pablo Counago
The joint-top scorer of the 1999 World Youth Championship joined Kitchee in October 2012 and has made an instant impact in Hong Kong football, scoring six goals in seven league appearances. The 33-year-old striker will be aiming for a similar start in the AFC Cup also.
Churchill Brothers: Sunil Chhetri
The Indian captain bagged a brace on his debut against Dempo last Thursday and will have plenty of responsibility on his shoulders in Beto’s absence. While Wim Koevermans will hope to see Sunil stay injury free, Churchill Brothers would wish for plenty of goals from the Delhi lad on his AFC Cup debut.
