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Central Coast Mariners will square off against Guangzhou Evergrande in the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 tonight in Tianhe Stadium. We’ll have live scores from 10.00pm AEST.
The Mariners would be the second Australian club in history to progress past the Round of 16 if they’re able to overcome the deficit from their first leg fixture and defeat Evergrande.
Central Coast will have to play a game for the ages, as their Chinese opponents are sitting at the top of the Chinese Super League and are led by World-Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi.
In the first leg held in Gosford last week, the home side went down 2-1 as an early Mitchell Duke goal was overcome by the ‘Southern China Tigers’, as Guangzhou is known to fans.
Paraguayan Lucas Barrios, formerly of Borussia Dortmund, nabbed his third goal in the competition shortly after, and the teams entered the sheds at halftime equal on halftime.
Both teams had a number of chances in the game, but it was Brazilian Muriqui with 15 minutes to go who sealed the victory for Evergrande.
Muriqui is one of the most dangerous men in the competition, topping the tournament leaderboard with seven goals in as many games.
To progress to the quarterfinals, Guangzhou only needs a win, draw or a 1-0 loss, while the Mariners must score two goals without conceding.
The difference for the Mariners might be the return of centre back Trent Sainsbury, who missed the first game due to a hamstring injury.
A sentimental storyline for this match is that it could well be the last professional match for Patrick Zwaanswijk, who announced his retirement at the conclusion of the Mariners’ ACL campaign.
The Dutchman, 38, has had 14 seasons in top football, including three with the Mariners and 11 in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Join us on The Roar for live commentary from 10.00pm AEST.
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