Indonesia’s most successful club side in recent years, Bali United have been crowned champions of their country in two of the past three completed seasons and return to the AFC Champions League preliminary rounds for the third time. They have also been a regular feature in the AFC Cup™, appearing four times between 2018 and 2022.

After a poor start to their domestic campaign, Bali have turned things around, winning four and drawing two of their past six matches as they continue their quest for a third league title in four seasons, having won their maiden crown in 2019.

 

Brazilians Eber Bessa and Jefferson, as well as Cameroonian Privat Mbarga, boast creativity and firepower going forward, while veteran striker Ilija Spasojevic continues to be a scoring threat, often from the bench, as Bali prepare to take on Lee Man FC in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Having been founded in 2017, Lee Man earned their first piece of silverware when they won the Sapling Cup in 2019. On the continent, they enjoyed a successful AFC Cup debut in 2021 when they emerged as East Zone champions before a 3-2 extra-time defeat against Uzbekistan’s FC Nasaf saw them exit the competition just one game before the final.

 

Brazilian striker Gil, who netted four goals, was the star of that campaign and remains a key component in the Lee Man frontline. However, his countryman Everton Camargo outscored him last season, finishing as the joint-top scorer in the Hong Kong Premier League as his side came second behind Kitchee SC.

 

Ahead of their first appearance in the AFC Champions League qualifying rounds, Lee Man will enjoy home advantage against Bali, although it’s the visitors who have the benefit of being in the midst of their domestic season ahead of what looks set to be an intriguing match-up.

Hong Kong Rangers return to continental action almost three decades since their only other appearance in an Asian club competition, when they lost to Yokohama Flugels in the 1995 Asian Cup Winners’ Cup. Earlier that year, they lifted the Hong Kong FA Cup and Hong Kong Senior Shield in what remains their last major pieces of silverware.

 

Having won promotion back into the Hong Kong Premier League in 2019, Rangers finished the most recent campaign in third place to earn their ticket to the AFC Champions League preliminary rounds and a date with Vietnamese side Hai Phong at Mong Kok Stadium on Tuesday.

 

Japanese striker Yumemi Kanda finished as their joint-top scorer last season and could well prove their most likely source of goals, while veteran playmaker Lam Ka Wai has been one of the standout players in Hong Kong for many a year and was a key part of Kitchee's rise to prominence in the previous decade. 

Vietnamese side Hai Phong, like Hong Kong Rangers, are making a long-awaited return to continental football, having been part of the 1996-97 Asian Cup Winners’ Cup, where they were beaten by eventual runners-up Nagoya Grampus in the second round.

 

Hai Phong have three times finished as runners-up in V.League 1 in the past 13 seasons having fallen just short of the title, although they did win the Vietnamese Cup in 2014. Their most recent second-placed finish, behind Hanoi FC in 2022, earned their spot in the AFC Champions League preliminary round.

 

Part of Vietnam’s golden generation, midfielder Luong Xuan Truong is the star name in the Hai Phong line-up, with fellow international Nguyen Hai Huy and Ugandan striker Joseph Mpande other players who could ask questions of the Hong Kong Rangers defence.