Oliveira's side have been in sublime form to start their Group F campaign having cast aside Thailand'sKrung Thai Bank 9-1 in their opening match, before an equally impressive 6-0 win against Nam Dinh three weeks ago.

While not as prolific, Beijing have matched their Japanese rivals with consecutive victories to ensure they are the main threat to Kashima's hopes of progression.

"The game on Wednesday could have a major effect on which team qualifies for the next stage," Oliveira said.

"We have to at least finish level on points with Beijing during the group stage if we hope to advance and we will definitely have to battle hard for a result against them."

The match will be Kashima's fourth in 10 days, however their Brazilian coach believes his team have the attributes to overcome their hectic recent schedule.

"If they can show good self-discipline, then we should be all right," he added.

Beijing's hopes of upsetting Kashima's buccaneering start have been undermined by injuries to key players with Xu Yunlong, Yang Pu and Honduras international midfielder Walter Martinez not fully fit.

Despite their expected absences Beijing coach Lee Jang-soo remains confident, saying: "In football, no result can be predicted before the contest.

"Kashima are undoubtedly a strong side but we will fight them to the bitter end. We have injury problem but I don't think that will prevent us from accomplishing our plan."

Krung Thai Bank coach Attaphol Puspakom admits his team are playing for nothing but pride against Nam Dinh after conceding it will be impossible to advance from the group.

The Thailand Premier League side are yet to win a match after losing 9-1 to Kashima Antlers and 4-2 at Beijing Guoan.

They host Vietnam Cup holders Nam Dinh at Chulalongkorn Stadium on Wednesday with the visitors also pointless after going down 3-1 to Beijing and 6-0 at Kashima.

"Although the situation of our team makes it impossible for us to qualify for the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League, as representatives of our country, we will have to play our best in our remaining matches," said Attaphol.

Krung Thai's domestic form has been good with victories against Port Authority and Bangkok University coming in the past week.

"We will have a full squad for our match against Nam Dinh and our confidence has come back as we have won two consecutive matches in the Thailand Premier League," Attaphol added.

"I am confident that we will get the points from our match against Nam Dinh and we have to win because we want to avoid last place in the group."

Nam Dinh have lost key midfielder Emmanuel Ejike Onyeji for the season.

The Nigerian was due to return from suspension after being sent off in the opening loss to Beijing but suffered a broken leg in their 2-0 victory over Ha Noi ACB in a league match last weekend that will rule him out for the rest of the tournament.

And his compatriot, striker Obinna Darlinton Ajoku, is also set to miss the game in Bangkok due to immigration problems.

And head coach Nguyen Ngoc Hao has also had to deal with the dismissal of assistant coach Nguyen Van Sy last week after the former Vietnam international midfielder played in a friendly match against a team of former French international players.