The winners of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup lead the standings with 13 points from their first five games and, with a nine-point lead over third placed Afghanistan and three matches remaining, the Qataris know a solitary point will take them four points clear of second-placed Oman.

Winning the group will assure Qatar their place in China 2023, which they can also achieve by finishing as one of the best four second-placed teams at the end of the second round of the Asian Qualifiers.

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.

The two sides faced each other back in February, with FC Tokyo taking the three points through Leandro’s late goal in the Japanese capital.

Sitting in third place on four points, just two points behind their Thursday opponents, a win for Melbourne Victory could see them reach the Round of 16 for the first time since 2016. The first match between the two sides ended in a 1-0 win for FC Seoul courtesy of Park Chu-young’s early effort.

With seven points, Shenhua are neck and neck with FC Tokyo in the race for the Round of 16, with the Chinese outfit needing to better Tokyo’s result in their simultaneous fixture against Perth Glory to keep their hopes alive.

The Chinese side have the best record in the competition’s East Zone, winning all five of their matches in a manner which suggests they may well be among the title contenders in two weeks' time.

With nothing on the line for either side in Thursday’s clash at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Genesio believes he has a responsibility to allow his senior players to recover ahead of the knockout stage but backs those who come into the side to perform at a similar level.