With the Korean side trailing Group G leaders Shandong Luneng by five points with two matches remaining, Seongnam must win in Long An and hope that the Chinese champions stumble at home against Adelaide United to send the quarter-final race down to their final game against Shandong in Korea on May 23.

On paper, the task for Kim Hak-bum's team may not appear too daunting with Dong Tam yet to manage a point from four Group G games and Seongnam in tremendous form in their domestic league, where they have a three-point lead after an unbeaten start to the season.

However, the Korean outfit are winless on the road in this year's AFC Champions League after a 2-1 defeat at Shandong and a 2-2 draw in Adelaide, and coach Kim will certainly be wary of their Vietnamese hosts, who gave Shandong a huge fright two weeks ago before succumbing to a late goal in their last home game.

Dong Tam led twice against the Chinese champions but the first-half dismissal of Nguyen Hoang Thuong eventually told as Li Jinyu scored deep into stoppage time to steal a 3-2 win for the visitors.

While Hoang Thuong is suspended for the visit of Seongnam, Dong Tam coach Henrique Calisto will be relieved to welcome back several key players who missed the match against Shandong.

Defender Phan van Giau returns from suspension, midfielder Nguyen Minh Phuong is back after undergoing treatment for an injury in Singapore but the biggest boost will be the return of Brazilian striker Antonio, who has scored three goals in two V-League games since coming back after a two-month injury lay-off.

The return of those players could not be more timely for Calisto, who expects Seongnam to offer his side a much tougher challenge than Shandong.

The Portuguese has plenty of respect for the Korean side who boast a strong squad that includes South Korea internationals Kim Sang-sik, Kim Do-heon and Choi Sung-kuk and talented imports Mota, Itamar and Adrian Neaga.

"Seongnam is a stronger team than Shandong as they play very good technical football with a varied type of passing," said Calisto.

"I just hope that my players can create some surprises like they did in the match against Shangdong. Hopefully, we can score some goals and not make any silly mistakes in defence with Van Giau coming back."

While Kim Hak-bum will certainly be interested on the result from Shandong on Wednesday, he knows that his team must remain focussed on getting a result in Vietnam.

"We can only think about what we can do," he said. "Right now, we will think about getting a result in Vietnam. If we collect a win against Dong Tam Long An, then we will look to get a result in the other game.

"There are still two games left in the group and we will not give up until the end."

Seongnam won their first meeting in Korea 4-1, but clearly the conditions on Wednesday will be far different with the heavy snowfall of March replaced by hot and sultry weather in southern Vietnam.