AFC Champions League Elite - Preview: Melbourne City FC (AUS) v Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN)

Melbourne: Melbourne City FC will brace themselves for a tough match when they host Sanfrecce Hiroshima in their opening AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 tie on Tuesday.

The Australian side have yet to kick off their domestic scene while Sanfrecce are a battle-hardened outfit with the J1 League season well past the midway stage.

The teams will be meeting for the first time but Melbourne City are winless in their previous two encounters with Japanese opposition.

Sanfrecce, meanwhile, will be seeking a third consecutive victory against an Australian side, having defeated Melbourne Victory twice in 2019.

The Japanese side, however, have never won their opening game of an AFC Champions League campaign in each of their previous five participations in the competition - only avoiding defeat once.

Melbourne City, making a return to the competition for the first time since the 2023/24 edition, are winless in each of their last three matches on the continental stage.

Attention will also be on Tsukasa Shiotani for if the centre-back plays on Tuesday, it will be his 40th AFC Champions League match - having featured 21 times for UAE's Al Ain FC and 18 times for Sanfrecce.

Melbourne City FC (AUS) v Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN)
Venue: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (Melbourne)
Kick-off: Tuesday, 17:45 (UTC+10)

Photo: Sanfrecce Hiroshima

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