Melbourne: Bottom plays top in Group F of the 2019 AFC Champions League on Wednesday when Melbourne victory welcome Sanfrecce Hiroshima to Rectangular Stadium.
The hosts have lost four of their five games and had their elimination confirmed after a home draw with Guangzhou Evergrande on Matchday Four, before they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Korea Republic’s Daegu FC two weeks ago in what has been a miserable campaign.
Since their last game on the Continent, Melbourne have been eliminated at the semi-finals of the A-League Finals series following a 6-1 humbling by Sydney FC.
Sanfrecce, meanwhile, have already secured top spot in the group and progress to the last 16 for the first time since 2014 after Sho Sasaki netted the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Guangzhou a fortnight ago.
While their AFC Champions League form has been impressive, the J.League side are on a terrible run domestically and Friday’s 1-0 home defeat to Sagan Tosu was their fifth successive league defeat.
James Donachie is suspended for Melbourne but Anthony Lesiotis returns after serving a one-match ban, as does Hayao Kawabe for the visitors.
Source: the-afc.com