A 10-goal difference separates runners-up Shanghai SIPG from group leaders Yokohama F. Marinos who face bottom side Sydney FC simultaneously at Al Janoub Stadium, meaning the top spot is beyond Vitor Perreira’s men unless the Australians can cruise past their opponents while SIPG do the same to hit 12 points and bridge that gap.

More realistically, the Chinese Super League side will be looking forward to their Round of 16 encounter against confirmed Group G winners Vissel Kobe.

Sitting in third place, the Korea Republic side need to win by a two-goal margin to overtake Guangzhou Evergrande, who are in second place on five points with a goal difference of zero, having drawn both games together.

Vissel Kobe and Suwon Samsung Bluewings met back in February and with the score tied at 0-0, Kyogo Furuhashi’s extremely late effort gave the J1 League side the win at Suwon World Cup Stadium.

The 2019 J League champions know their place in the Round of 16 is secure and, with an unlikely combination of results needed to dethrone them as Group H winners, and Postecoglou did confirm that he will use the fixture to freshen up his squad.

But that doesn’t mean the former Australian national team boss sees the clash against his countrymen as any less meaningful, and he declared the match at Al Janoub Stadium a golden opportunity for his side to continue to impress.

While five of the eight positions in the knockout rounds have now been claimed after the latest set of matches, three places remain up for grabs with four crucial fixtures to take place in Groups E, F and G to decide the runners-up spots.

As fans of Asian football await yet more drama in the Continent's premier club competition, the-AFC.com has chosen five things to look out for ahead of the matches.

Zhang, a member of the Guangzhou squad that won the AFC Champions League title in 2013 and 2015, sustained the injury to his right ankle early in his side’s 3-1 defeat to Vissel Kobe on November 25.

Guangzhou announced the 31-year-old China PR international had undergone an operation on the affected area and would be out of action for at least six weeks.

Doha: Yokohama F. Marinos' Theerathon Bunmathan has been voted by the fans as the 2020 AFC Champions League (East) Toyota Player of the Week after a goalscoring performance in his side's 4-1 victory over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Tuesday.

The Thai left-back's blistering strike was his standout moment in an excellent all-round display that saw him ranked third in Stats Perform's – the Asian Football Confederation's official data provider – list of nominees for the accolade with an 8.4 rating.