Wanderers attempt the impossible

Posted Tuesday, May 05, 2015 by Foxsports.com

Western Sydney Wanderers have an almost impossible task to keep their AFC Champions League title defence alive on Tuesday.

Wanderers are bottom of Group H and face leaders Guangzhou Evergrande in China.

To progress to the knockout stages, Wanderers must win and hope the match between Kashima and FC Seoul ends in a draw.

Defender Matthew SpiranovicSpiranovic still backs his side to possibly reach the last 16.

"We have all the belief in the world that we can get the result that we need tomorrow," he said on Monday.

"Hopefully we get a bit of luck and the other result goes our way as well.

"Obviously we'd prefer to have it totally in our hands.

"But it will come down to the final game now so we just have to focus on the things we can control and get three points."

Guangzhou coach Fabio Cannavaro feels that Western Sydney will need to take risks against his side to get a win at the Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium and that will create openings for his side.

"I know our opponent will play aggressively because they have to win to qualify. We can take advantage of this opportunity," said the Italian.

"I always hope we can win every game, so, of course, we will target the win. From experience we often encounter more difficulties when facing so-called underdogs – so we’d better make sure we maintain our focus.

"But as we have already qualified as the group winner, we should also play without pressure," he added.