The third round of the AFC Champions League Group I match between Daegu FC and Beijing Guoan took place at 22:00 on July 2 at the Benyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
[Daegu FC]
In the first two rounds of the AFC Champions League group stage, Daegu FC won one game and lost one, finishing second in Group I with three points. Although they were eventually turned back by Kawasaki after leading by two goals in the first round, they thrashed Union City 7-0 in the second round. Daegu currently boasts four foreigners, including Brazilian trio Edgar, Cecinha and Sergio, as well as Japanese midfielder Nishi Tsubasa. Daegu FC finished fifth in the K-League last season, and were lucky to catch the last train to the AFC Champions League after being voluntarily relegated due to Sangmu's relocation. This season, Daegu finished fourth in the Korean K-League, just four points adrift of table-topping Ulsan, and advanced to the last eight of the AFC Cup. In order to keep their chances of getting out of the group, Daegu must not slip up in the two-legged match against Guoan.
[Beijing Guoan]
In the first two rounds of the AFC Champions League group stage, Guoan drew and lost, accumulating only one point, and tied with Kawasaki for third place in Group I. In the first round, Guoan was down by a goal, but equalized with a direct free kick by National Youth League captain Liang Shaowen. In the second round, Guoan faced Kawasaki and suffered a 0-7 defeat. Over the course of the two matches, Guoan accumulated five shots on goal, of which only two hit the goal range, making the gap between the youth team and the adult team obvious. Although not as strong as Kawasaki, it will not be easy for Guoan to score against Daegu, and the most practical goal is to get out of the shadow of the 0-7 defeat in the last round, stop the big defeat and score again.
In the pre-match press conference, Jankovic said, "Tomorrow's match is our third in the group stage and we still have to face a strong opponent. We are indeed a young team, but we have to try our best to play at our best level. If we compare the strength of each group horizontally, we will find that our group is relatively strong and we will face fierce competition even if the first team comes."
[Historical encounter]
Guoan and Daegu have never met before. In 22 meetings with South Korean teams in the AFC Champions League, Guoan have won 4, drawn 5 and lost 13.
[Projected debut]
Daegu FC: 1 - Choi Young-eun; 30 - Park Byung-hyeon, 6 - Hong Jung-hyun, 7 - Kim Jin-hyuk; 20 - Hwang Soon-man, 74 - Lee Yong-rae, 44 - Seok-young, 38 - Jang Sung-won; 11 - Cecilia, 9 - Edgar, 22 - Lee Geun-ho
Beijing Guoan: 25 - Guo Quanbo; 63 - Nai Bijiang, 36 - Liang Shaowen, 38 - Ruan Qilong, 64 - Xu Dongdong; 35 - Jiang Wenhao, 66 - Hu Jiaqi, 88 - Shi Yu Chengcheng, 99 - Chen Yan Park; 69 - Duan Dezhi, 31 - Li Boshi
