Parepare: The ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ returns on Wednesday, with the knockout stage set to kick off as Indonesia’s PSM Makassar hosts Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nội FC in the semi-final first leg at Gelora B.J. Habibie Stadium.
PSM Makassar finished as Group A runners-up after a 3-0 win over Vietnam's Đông Á Thanh Hóa FC back in early February secured their place in the final four.
Since then, the news that the Makassar club will play in front of their own fans in Parepare for the first time in the Shopee Cup will have come as a huge boost, with the side's previous home fixtures being played in both Balikpapan and Bali.
PSM have been without competitive action for the past three weeks and picked up just one point from their two most recent Liga 1 games as they dropped down to eighth in the standings.
With 10 league goals and four in the Shopee Cup so far this season, including two against Thanh Hóa, Nermin Haljeta is likely to prove PSM's biggest threat as they look to make home advantage count in the first leg.
The Slovenian forward will once again lead the line for Bernardo Tavares’ side while the likes of Daisuke Sakai, Victor Dethan and Yuran Fernandes will also be key.
Công An Hà Nội finished as winners of Group B and remain the only team with a perfect record. But since then, they have been without competitive action for almost a month meaning that both sides will come into this game on the back of a lengthy break.
Since beating Borneo FC Samarinda in their final Shopee Cup group game in February, the Vietnamese side have found wins hard to come by, winning just once in six attempts in the league, although losing just once also.
And in a blow ahead of the semi-final, youngster Nguyen Dinh Bac, who scored twice in the group stage, will miss the first leg as the 20-year-old is currently sidelined with a broken toe.
Alexandre Polking’s side underwent their first training session in Indonesia on Sunday and the Brazilian tactician will look to captain Nguyen Quang Hai, Le Van Do and Leo Artur to inspire his team.
With five wins from five and a tournament-leading 15 goals, Công An have been flawless so far in the Shopee Cup and will aim to continue their fine form in Wednesday's first leg.
PSM Makassar vs Công An Hà Nội FC
Venue: Gelora B.J. Habibie Stadium, Indonesia
Kick-off: 2 April, 8:30 PM (Local Time)
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