Gamba comfortably disposed of the A-League side in the first leg in Japan thanks to a 3-0 win last Wednesday and will be looking to become the second Japanese side to win the continental club title in a row when the teams face off tomorrow at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Akira Nishino's side eliminated defending champions Urawa Reds in the semi-finals and are now within touching distance of not only being crowned Asian champions but of representing the continent at next month's FIFA World Club Cup.

Dodd, though, believes Adelaide should not be written off despite finishing second-best in the first leg.

"It's definitely a possibility," he said of Adelaide's hopes of pulling off a four-goal victory.

"If the players have belief in themselves they can do it. If you don't have that then there's no point going out there.

"We will be going out there in a positive frame of mind, thinking we can score three goals to secure at least a draw and getting the extra one for the winner. There's no doubt in our mind we can go out there and win this.

"It's a 3-0 deficit and it's going to be difficult but we've had a short period to prepare this week and we've done some good sessions. We're hoping to get over last week's loss and do well tomorrow."

The situation is a reversal of the one Adelaide imposed on Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor in the semi-finals when Aurelio Vidmar's side handed Rivaldo and company a 3-0 defeat in Australia before holding out in Tashkent, losing 1-0 but progressing to the final.

"Gamba are quite a good technical team so I'm sure they'll be going out to try and get a goal like we did in Uzbekistan a couple of weeks ago," he said. "Getting the goal would make it very difficult for us but we have to take the risk and try and score goals.

"We're here to win that trophy and that's all the motivation you need. There's still 90 minutes to go in the tie and we can turn it around and it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity and we don't want to let it slip."

Overturning a large deficit is not unprecedented in the final of the Asian Champions League.

South Korea's Seongnam Ilhwa secured a 3-1 win in the away leg of the 2004 final against Al Ittihad, only for the Saudi Arabian side to roar back in the second leg in Korea and register an astonishing 5-0 victory to secure a 6-3 aggregate win.

Adelaide's task, however, is made all the more difficult with the suspension of central defender Angelo Costanzo and first-choice goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic, both of whom are banned after picking up their second yellow cards of the tournament in the first leg of the final.

As a result, 17-year-old Mark Birighitti will make only his fourth start between the posts for the senior side while Michael Valkanis is expected to play in the centre of defence.

Midfielder Paul Reid should be fit for selection, although Vidmar's squad is starting to look threadbare as a result of the exertions in both the A-League and the Asian Champions League.

"That's life, that's how it is," said Vidmar of the issues with his squad. "That's what we've got and we will do our very best with the numbers we have and the players out there are going to give the very best they can to get a result.

"We know it's a very difficult task but during the week you've still got to believe that anything's possible."

Gamba Osaka arrived in Australia on Monday morning and coach Nishino will be hoping his side can perform better than at the weekend, when they lost 3-1 at home to FC Tokyo in the J.League.

"Three goals is a big advantage for us and it will be very important to get the first goal but we want to get into a good rhythm, control the match and take the title," said Nishino.

"Playing in the J.League and in the AFC Champions League is a tough schedule and we conceded three goals in our last match but there were strong and weak points in the game. Hopefully it won't happen tomorrow."