Two-time champions, the fourth best team in the world and big name internationals: Hong Kong’s Kitchee face uphill battle in AFC Champions League

We take a look at the other teams in group E that stand in the way of Diego Forlan’s Hong Kong Premier League champions making history

Reading Time:4 minutes

Diego Forlan scores his first goal for Hong Kong side Kitchee. Photo: Twitter

Published: 10:33am, 1 Feb 2018Updated: 10:33am, 1 Feb 2018

Kitchee learned their fate in the AFC Champions League late on Tuesday evening when the final two members of group E won their play-off games.

Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian and Japanese J-League 1 team Kashiwa Reysol confirmed their places alongside the Hong Kong Premier League champions and Korean K-League winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

But what is in store for Diego Forlan and his Kitchee teammates when they kick off their continental adventure on February 13 – and more importantly do they stand a chance of bettering Eastern’s record of picking up a solitary point last season?

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Korean champions Jeonbuk are AFC Champions League royalty and one of the most successful teams in the post-2002 Champions League era, having won it twice, most recently in 2016, and finished runners-up once – a feat only matched by Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad.

Jeonbuk qualified for the group stages as league champions, their fifth K-League title, romping to the title by nine points.

They have won three of the last four titles and finished runners-up in 2016 making them the strongest team in the group and one that makes up a large contingent of the South Korean national side.