Yokohama F Marinos host Al-Ain in the 2024 AFC Champions League final first leg at Nissan Stadium on Saturday.
The Japan outfit are in uncharted territory, having never made it this far in the continental competition, and they seek a positive result on home turf to hold an advantage before the reverse fixture at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on May 25.
Match preview
Harry Kewell wants his players to enjoy the club's first-ever AFC Champions League final game, despite understanding their pressure to deliver in the doubleheader.
Unlike the United Arab Emirates side, Marinos are featuring in their first final, having never made it beyond the round of 16 in their history until defeating Bangkok United 3-2 on aggregate with the reverse fixture in Japan decided in the final minute of extra time.
Anderson Lopes is the team's undoubted star player and arguably the reason Kewell's men have made it this far. The 30-year-old has scored in every knockout round en route to the final, notching the winner at the death in extra time in the round of 16 aggregate win, the first goal in the quarter-final first-leg triumph against Shandong Tarishan, the only goal in the 1-0 success in the reverse fixture and the second in the semi-final second leg versus Ulsan.
Lopes's match-winning quality could be the difference for the Japanese club seeking success over two legs, and they could lean on their impressive results on home soil to give them the edge heading into the reverse fixture in two weeks.
Yokohama are undefeated at Nissan Stadium since Incheon United's 4-2 group-stage triumph over the Marinos, then managed by Kevin Muscat, but Tricolor have since kept four clean sheets in five matches on home turf, with their two goals conceded coming in the semi-final second-leg 3-2 win over Ulsan, a tie ultimately won on penalties.
Whether that sequence continues on Saturday remains to be seen, but Kewell's men face an uphill battle against a club competing in their fourth final and a first since 2016.
Al-Ain may have won the 2003 edition but have since fallen short in the 2005 and 2016 deciders, and they seek to be on the winning side this time in their first final in eight years.
Their path to the final under Hernan Crespo has seen them eliminate Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in the quarter-finals and take out Al Hilal in the semis — second and first respectively in the Saudi Pro League. It is impressive that Al Zaeem's only defeat on the continent since Crespo replaced Alfred Schreuder in November 2023 came in the semi-final second leg (2-1) after claiming the reverse fixture 4-2.
Goals have undoubtedly been Al-Ain's forte in this year's competition, with no club outscoring the 2003 Asian champions in the group stage — 17, level with Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale — and they have found the net in all but one match — a goalless encounter in the last 16 game against Nasaf on February 14.
That tendency to find the net stands the away side in good stead heading into Saturday's match, and the travelling fans should be confident in their side's attacking third prowess in Yokohama.
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Team News
Takumi Kamijima was sent off in the semi-final second leg against Ulsan, thus ruling out the Yokohama defender on Saturday.
While Anderson Lopes is the undoubted threat, Elber and Yan Matheus have matched the striker's seven goals plus assists in this season's AFC Champions League, and Kewell will be keen for all three to impact the first leg for Marinos.
Soufiane Rahimi leads the competition's goalscoring charts with 11 goals, five more than teammate Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba, who has not featured since the round of 16 second leg clash with Nasaf. The Al-Ain support hope the pair rise to the occasion to hurt Yokohama's prospects on Saturday.
Kaku (three goals) has assisted four of Al Zaeem's strikes in this year's competition, and the playmaker aims to add to his seven direct involvements.
Erik has not played since going off in the semi-final second-leg aggregate win over Al Hilal, and it remains to be seen if the full-back returns this weekend.
Yokohama F Marinos possible starting lineup:
Popp; Matsubara, Hatanaka, Eduardo, Nagato; Sakakibara, Uenaka, Nam; Matheus, Lopes, Eiber
Al-Ain possible starting lineup:
Eisa; Al Ahbabi, Hashemi, Kouadio, Sosu; Nader, Park, Palacios; Kaku, Laba, Rahimi
We say: Yokohama F Marinos 2-1 Al-Ain
Saturday's first leg is close to call, with Kewell's inexperienced Yokohama hosting an Al-Ain side keen to secure a second title. Marinos' strength at home — five straight wins at Nissan Stadium in the AFC Champions League and one loss in 14 in all competitions as hosts — should see them secure a marginal advantage over Crespo's team.
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