Johor Darul Ta'zim's defeat of Vissel Kobe was their first victory in their last 10 meetings with teams from Japan and they chose a perfect time to end the run.

The Malaysian champions endured an unlucky League Stage, which saw them hitting the woodwork a tournament-high eight times but having advanced, will now be seeking a place in the quarter-finals for the first time.

Sanfrecce will be equally confident of their chances, having defeated Johor Darul Ta'zim 2-1 when the sides met in the League Stage just three weeks ago.

The Japanese side are unbeaten in each of their last five AFC Champions League Elite matches (W3 D2) and avoiding defeat will give them their longest unbeaten streak in the competition.