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The Central Coast Mariners will need to put their recent poor A-League form behind them if they are any hope of upsetting J-League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Asian Champions League. Join us for live scores and commentary from 7.30pm AEDT.
Despite the daunting task that lies ahead tonight, the Mariners do possess a fantastic opportunity to play themselves back into form when they face Hiroshima.
The Japanese champions will start strong favourites tonight given the Mariners recent struggles in the A-League.
The Central Coast also lost their opening Asian Champions League match to FC Seoul so there is little room for error tonight against Hiroshima.
Hiroshima have firmly established their status as perhaps the best side in Japan and possibly Asia, winning the past two J-League championships.
Mariners coach Phil Moss knows that a win against Hiroshima tonight could prove to be a massive turning point for the Central Coast heading into the A-League finals.
Hiroshima are without some big names with Hisato Sato and Croatian Michael Mikic both out of the line-up to face the Mariners.
Midfielder Toshihiro Aoyama however represents a huge danger for the Mariners tonight. He is a quality ball-player and will torment the Central Coast defence if he is allowed to dictate terms in the midfield.
Mariners captain John Hutchinson believes his side must use their physicality to their advantage in a bid to disrupt the free-flowing game of Hiroshima.
While being physical has its advantages, the Mariners ultimately have to let their football do the talking tonight if they hope to cause the upset.
Hiroshima though will be very keen for a victory tonight given that they are coming off a 1-1 draw against Beijing Guoan in their Asian Champions League opener.
While the Mariners should be competitive at home, the class and pedigree of Hiroshima should be enough for the J-League champions to secure a tight win.
Hiroshima to win 2-1