ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) will kick off their campaign in the Asian Champions League (ACL) on Tuesday with the hope of surpassing last season's performance.
The Southern Tigers will host Japan's Kawasaki Frontale in a Group I match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, and coach Esteban Solari admitted it would be a challenging opener.
However, Solari promised an entertaining affair, with no plans to park the bus and hope for a draw.
In the 2022 season, JDT and Kawasaki were in the same group.
Then, the reigning Super League champions managed a 0-0 draw in the first match but suffered a 5-0 loss in the second to Kawasaki, who were runners-up in last season's J1 League, at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.
However, JDT still topped the group, becoming the first Malaysian side to reach the last 16 of the ACL before losing 5-0 to eventual champions Urawa Red Diamonds.
"We will forget about last season and go all out for three points," said Solari during the pre-match conference at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Monday.
"I expect a high-intensity match from Kawasaki. However, we will not play defensively but maintain JDT's attacking policy and aim to score early goals."
He said preparations were going smoothly with the return of Fernando Forestieri and Diogo Santo from injury, indicating that both players may play a bit-part role on Tuesday.
"Forestieri just started training three days ago. Santo has been training for 10 days, but we will assess their fitness before deciding whether they will be in the starting eleven.
"Kawasaki play in a quality league, and their coach, Toru Oniki, has been with them for six years. They are the early favourites in Group I,"
The other teams in the group are South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai and Thailand's BG Pathum United.
Captain Jordi Amat said: "JDT are not afraid of Kawasaki.
"I am confident we will be able absorb the pressure and earn a good result.
"We will have many tough games in the ACL and winning the first match will set a positive tone.
We have to dominate Kawasaki and defend aggressively tomorrow," said Amat.
Kawasaki coach Oniki is aware of JDT's strength and has drilled his players accordingly to stop the Malaysian side.
"JDT have grown stronger, and they have players with good individual quality," said Oniki.
"Our plan is not to allow JDT players to roam freely on the pitch, especially Bergson da Silva and Juan Muniz.
"We had tough matches against JDT last season here. We have to control the game and score early.
"Although we have eight new players from our youth squad compared to last year's team, we are still a capable side."