Victory in Melbourne 

Being that Melbourne is playing Beijing Guoan on Tuesday night I thought it would be an opportune time to find out some information about our opponents. However, being that my knowledge of Beijing Guoan is limited to it being the current club side of the Griffiths brothers (Joel and Ryan) and that they play in Beijing, I thought would be probably best to ask someone who knows much more about them. Therefore I asked Mike Tuckerman, regular The World Game and FourFourTwo contributor and Australian Football Weekly’s Asian football expert the questions to which we all want answers.

What style of play can we expect?

Beijing are a side that aren’t afraid to employ a physical style to get the better of their opponents. In Bosnian defensive midfielder Darko Matic they possess a steadying influence in the centre of the park, allowing the likes of Yang Xianchuang and Huang Bowen to push further forward. They’re also a cosmopolitan club, with Scottish defender Maurice Ross joining new Brazilian signing Valdo and of course Australian duo Ryan and Joel Griffiths in the squad.

Who are the dangermen?

Aside from the Griffiths brothers – who each scored eight league goals for Beijing last season – Brazilian striker Valdo also scored plenty of goals for relegated Hangzhou Greentown, so he could be something of an X-factor up front. Huang Bowen is likewise a handy presence in midfield, while skipper Xu Yunlong is the mainstay of the defence.

Where do you think Melbourne has the advantage?

This is Beijing’s third straight appearance in the Champions League. Having fallen at the group stage in their past two outings, Melbourne may have the psychological edge over a Guoan side under pressure to end China’s wretched run in Asia’s premier club competition.

How did they qualify?

By winning their first ever Chinese Super League title on the final day of the season. Beijing went into the final game of the season level on points with Henan Construction, but a 4-0 thumping of Hangzhou Greentown in front of more than 60,000 fans saw the capital club finish a point ahead of fast finishers Changchun Yatai.

How are they faring in the Super League?

The Super League hasn’t kicked off – and may not any time soon – with ongoing investigations into widespread match fixing meaning that the scheduled March 20 kick-off is tentative at best.

That hasn’t stopped Beijing from getting into shape, as Guoan started their pre-season training on February 5. Unfortunately a wild brawl in a friendly with defending Asian champions Pohang Steelers disrupted their focus somewhat, so Hong Yuanshou’s side will be itching to kick off competitive action in the Champions League.