Kuala Lumpur: Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nội FC, who remain the only club with a 100% record in the inaugural ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™, will travel to take on Kuala Lumpur City FC in a penultimate round Group B encounter on Thursday.
KL City FC began the tournament with back-to-back wins but suffered their first defeat on Matchday 3, a 2-0 loss against Lion City Sailors FC.
The City Boys returned to Malaysia Super League action after that, only to lose 1-0 to Selangor FC meaning that they will come into this match on an indifferent run of form.
The Miroslav Kuljanac-coached side will aim to stop Công An Hà Nội’s momentum and will have happy memories from their only previous meeting against a Vietnamese club.
En route to reaching the 2022 AFC Cup final, KL City FC defeated Vietnam’s Viettel FC 6-5 on penalties in the ASEAN Zonal semi-finals with Azri Ghani the hero when he famously saved the spot kick to send them through.
On the other hand, Công An have been in unstoppable form in the Shopee Cup beating Buriram United, Lion City Sailors and Kaya FC-Iloilo to sit top of the pile ahead of this match-up.
Leo Artur has been in superb form with three goals and two assists in the Shopee Cup whilst also being the current joint highest scorer in V.League 1.
Since the 2-1 win in Manila against Kaya, Alexandre Polking has helped his team reach the Vietnamese Cup quarter-finals after seeing off Hong Linh Ha Tinh in the Round of 16.
However, they stumbled on their return to league action after almost two months during the weekend managing only a 1-1 draw at home against second-from-bottom Song Lam Nghe An despite playing the large majority of the second half with a numerical advantage.
There will be stars aplenty on both sides with the likes of Paulo Josue and Nguyen Quang Hai set to take to the pitch in a clash that could well shape Group B’s destiny.
Kuala Lumpur City FC vs Công An Hà Nội FC
Venue: Stadium Bola Sepak Kuala Lumpur
Kick-off: 23 January, 9:00 PM (Local Time)
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