Looking at the pattern of the three powerhouses, even Hanoi's weakest division, FC, is leading the Vietnamese soccer landscape. With this in mind, Wuhan's three towns seem to have a rough road ahead of them after their performance in the Chinese Super League this season.
Shandong Taishan's opponents in the group stage are of different strengths: Yokohama Marinos of Japan's J-League, Kaya FC of the Philippines, and Incheon United of South Korea's J-League. Kaya FC is relatively weak, while Yokohama Marinos are in sole possession of the top spot in the J1 League after 24 rounds, with 15 wins, 5 draws, 4 losses and 50 points, and will undoubtedly be a big challenge for Shandong Taishan. It's worth noting that Anderson Lopez, a former foreign goal scorer in the Chinese Super League, is on fire after starting in 24 matches and contributing 16 goals.
Compared to Yokohama Mariners, Incheon United is a bit inferior. As of the 27th round of the K1 League, they are in 6th place with 9 wins, 10 draws, 8 losses and 37 points, 23 points away from leaders Ulsan Hyundai.
As you can see, Shandong Taishan has an equally bumpy road to the finish line and must get as many points as possible from Incheon United and Kaya FC.
Zhejiang knocked out Thai Premier League rivals Thai Harbour in the play-offs and welcomed Buriram United from the Thai Premier League, Kofu Kazebayashi from Japan's J2 League and Melbourne City from the Australian Premier League. Buriram United is ranked third in the Thai Premier League, but with only two rounds of the season under its belt, its fortunes are uncertain. However, as a traditional powerhouse in the Thai Premier League, their strength should not be underestimated.
Kofu Kazuhayashi, the Japanese J2 League side that is the equivalent of the Chinese professional league's Central League, is in 9th place after 31 rounds of matches with just 14 wins, 5 draws, 12 losses and 47 points, a 16-point difference from the leaders. Despite beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima in last season's Emperor's Cup final to win the title and qualify for the AFC Champions League, it remains to be seen whether they can continue their good form.
The new AFL season has not yet started and Melbourne City does not have any latest results to refer to, but last year they won the second place in the AFL, which is a good strength.
Overall, Zhejiang faced relatively weak opponents, and among the four teams, they have the most optimistic situation.
However, any team that wants to come out on top still needs to fight their way forward game after game.
