January 18, 2018 will be a date Yapp Hung-fai will be wanting to forget as quickly as possible. At Mongkok Stadium, the Eastern SC custodian and skipper saw eight goals fly past him in a heavy defeat to Hong Kong Premier League leaders and rivals Kitchee.

Fortunately, Yapp and his team have a chance for swift redemption, with the next game coming quickly: the 2018 AFC Champions League Preliminary Round 2 tie against Vietnam's FLC Thanh Hoa.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper spoke to the-AFC.com to share his thoughts ahead of the continental clash.

Q: How are you feeling ahead of the 2018 AFC Champions League match against Vietnamese team FLC Thanh Hoa?

This game is an important one for us to earn back the support from the fans after we suffered a big [8-1] defeat against Kitchee in the Hong Kong Premier League.

We are also facing a [Senior Shield] cup final the coming Saturday, so we need a brilliant performance to get back our confidence.

After winning Liga 1 with rivals Bhayangkara last year, recently acquired Indonesia international Ilija Spasojevic scored his first goal for Bali in the victory against Tampines, and the striker took time out to speak to the-AFC.com ahead of the one-legged second preliminary round clash in Chiangrai

Q. How happy were you with Bali’s performance against Tampines Rovers?

It was our first competitive match this season so I was very happy with our performance. I’m sure in time we can only get better as there are some new players in the squad and we need more time to really adapt to each other.

Q. You scored at a crucial time. How important was that goal to the team's confidence in the final 30 minutes?

After the first half ended 1-1, we had to attack early in the second half as we didn’t want to chase the win in the last minutes of the game. Luckily, everything went according to our plan.

Johor Darul Ta’zim skipper Safiq Rahim has been the heartbeat of the team that has dominated the Malaysia Super League for the last four years.

On Tuesday, his team face Muangthong United in the Second Preliminary Round for the second time in three years. The Thais were triumphant last time around as goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan performed heroics in the penalty shootout.

However, having overcome Bangkok United at the same stage in 2017, Safiq is confident that JDT are better prepared this year as they get set to meet a Muangthong side that has been weakened by the departures of Kawin and playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin.

Q: How are the team’s preparations for the upcoming clash with Muangthong United going?

Now, everybody is okay. We are ready for the qualifier against Muangthong. We know Muangthong are a good team and before this, we played against them in 2016. Now in 2018, it’s a different story, a different chapter, so we want to have a better result.

Muangthong United vs Johor Darul Ta’zim

7:30pm, January 23

Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok

MUANGTHONG UNITED

It’s a time of change at the Thai giants, with their four superstars all signing for overseas clubs over the last six months – Chanathip Songkrasin, Theerasil Dangda and Theerathon Bunmathan all to Japan, and Kawin Thamsatchanan to Belgium – although both Teerasil and Theerathon will play in the preliminary rounds before departing for Japan.

That means it will be a largely new-look Muangthong United who host Johor Darul Ta’zim next week, and their headline signing has been that of former Buriram United striker Jajá, who found the back of the net 34 times last season.

Muangthong United hosted Johor Darul Ta’zim at the same stage in 2016, with the match ending 0-0 but the Thai side advancing after a 3-0 win in the penalty shootout. Having made the Round of 16 last year, coach Totchtawan Sripan will be hoping for a similar result next week.

After helping Ceres Negros defeat Shan United in the AFC Champions League Preliminary Round 1, Philippines midfielder Kevin Ingreso joined the-AFC.com for an interview ahead of their Round 2 clash against Australia's Brisbane Roar.

Q: Hi Kevin, how're you feeling ahead of the game against Brisbane Roar on Tuesday?

I guess everyone is looking for new challenges and so am I. We are all excited to play these kind of games and we are looking forward to facing Brisbane Roar.

Q: This isn't the first time a Filipino team will travel to Brisbane at this stage in the competition. Just one year ago, Global FC made the same journey and it was a tough match for them, losing 6-0. What do you think Ceres can learn from that match and are there any preparations you can make?

I'm pretty sure that wasn’t the best game Global played. This is past but one or two of us, will probably get some tips or any pieces of information on a few players from Global - ones we know from the Philippines national team - and this will hopefully give us a little advantage. Our management and coaching staff will take care of what we have to know about them

Muangthong United and Thailand striker Adisak Kraisorn had an injury-hit 2017, which restricted his participation in his side’s stirring run to the AFC Champions League Round of 16.

The Thai side now face Malaysian Champions Johor Darul Ta’zim in the Preliminary Round 2 for the second time in three years.

Victory would see Adisak and his teammates reach a play-off against Kashiwa Reysol for a place in the group stage, and an opportunity to repeat last year’s heroics.

For you personally, how important is it to play in the AFC Champions League group stage after getting very little game time in 2017?

Last year was very frustrating because I had a lot of injuries, so I really hope to get more of a chance this year.

But getting into the AFC Champions League is going to be tough. You have all the best teams and biggest stars in Asia, and everyone wants to prove themselves on this stage.

The AFC Champions League 2018 kicks off with four clubs gearing up to advance past the Preliminary Stage 1 qualifiers. Myanmar National League champions Shan United FC will play host to Ceres Negros FC from the Philippines at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon at 4pm local time.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Liga 1 2017 runners-up Bali United will kick start their maiden appearance in the AFC club competitions when they face Singapore’s Tampines Rovers at the Capt. I Wayan Dipta Stadium at 7.30pm local time.

The winners of this year’s AFC Champions League – which is already one of the richest continental club competitions in world football and is second only to Europe – will receive the competition’s largest-ever reward of US$4m, up from US$3m.

The 2018 runners-up will also get an extra US$500,000 taking the total purse to US$2m, while the AFC Cup winners will also bag a record US$1.5m this year.