Thu Dau Mot City: Vietnam’s Becamex Binh Duong will welcome Indonesia’s PSM Makassar to Binh Duong Stadium for the first leg of their 2019 AFC Cup ASEAN Zonal semi-finals on Wednesday.
After a slow start, Binh Duong qualified for the knockout rounds as the best-placed runners-up in the region after defeating Ceres Negros in their final group game.
There were no such problems for Makassar, meanwhile, as the Liga 1 team won four and drew two to progress on what is their debut appearance in the competition.
Becamex Binh Duong
Returning to the competition for the first time since 2010 – although they have since appeared in the AFC Champions League – Binh Duong picked up just a point from their opening two games to give themselves a mountain to climb.
But they hit form with back-to-back victories over Myanmar’s Shan United before a third successive win, against Indonesia’s Persija Jakarta, gave them a fighting chance going into their final group game against table-toppers Ceres Negros.
Away in the Philippines, Wander Luiz struck an incredible goal from distance to seal a late 1-0 win as Binh Duong edged into the ASEAN Zonal semi-finals, alongside Ceres, in dramatic fashion.
Brazilian Luiz has already netted crucial goals, while American Victor Mansaray adds further firepower to the team and Vietnam international Nguyen Anh Duc is among their most experienced campaigners.
PSM Makassar
Making their maiden appearance in the competition, PSM Makassar began with a 1-1 draw against 2018 ASEAN Zonal champions Home United in Singapore.
An emphatic 7-3 win over Lao Toyota followed but another draw, this time against the Philippines' Kaya FC-Iloilo, left plenty to do at the midway stage.
But hard-fought wins over Kaya and Home all but confirmed their place in the next round before they sealed top spot in Group H by seeing off the Laotians on Matchday Six.
Makassar boast plenty of talent to trouble the opposition, with Wiljan Pluim and Marc Klok possessing the ability to boss the game from the heart of the midfield and Finland’s Eero Markkanen their main contributor of goals.
Available after suspension: Taufik Hidayat
Ones To Watch:
Becamex Binh Duong (VIE) vs PSM Makassar (IDN)
Venue: Binh Duong Stadium, Thu Dau Mot City
Kick-off: June 19, 17:00 UTC+7
Source: the-afc.com