The Reds failed to make it out of the group stages in the 2007 edition but currently sit atop Group E level with Changchun Yatai on seven points.

And they will welcome back long-term injury victims Kristian Sarkies and Paul Agostino when they entertain bottom side Binh Duong as they look to steal a march in the race for the last eight over the Chinese champions.

"We had a lot of problems last year with injuries and a few suspensions here or there and the team changed quite often," Vidmar said.

"So it's quite pleasing that we've managed to keep more or less the same 11 on the park for every game.

"I think that has been extremely important to get some cohesion and get a bit of confidence between everyone.

"We've just got to worry about getting out there and being really aggressive and winning the game.

"We've taken a pretty big step forward over the last three games and we need to continue that."

A 2-1 defeat against Adelaide in Vietnam two weeks ago left Binh Duong still searching for their first point in the competition and they will be missing Brazilian strikers Kesley Alves, who has a hamstring injury, and the suspended De Lima for Wednesday's clash.

And coach Le Thuy Hai is expecting a much stiffer test this time around.

"I expect them to give us a much more difficult game because they are used to the playing conditions here," he said.

"I think Adelaide are the best team in this group and will finish on top at the end of the group stage."

Changchun travel to Korea to face Pohang Steelers buoyed by a narrow 1-0 victory over the K-League side in China last time out.

Although they will be missing defender Wang Wanpeng and midfielder Jiang Pengxiang due to injury, along with suspended midfielder Yang Haibo, coach Gao Hongbo is still demanding nothing less than three points at the Pohang Steelyard.

"In order to progress, we have to win," he said.

"We need to be at our best. The last game with Pohang was a difficult one and this will be too.

"We must show our fighting spirit when playing our Korean rivals on their own patch."

Steelers have made a dreadful start to the defence of their K-League crown, a 3-0 win over Daegu last weekend was only their second win of the season, while they have done little better on the continent with their only points coming via a 4-1 win over Binh Duong.

But the return of instrumental defender Hwang Jae-won has made an impact and with Hwang Jin-song available after recovering from a broken nose, boss Sergio Farias is convinced better times are around the corner.

"We are starting to play better," he said.

"We are more settled and I am sure that out performances will continue to improve, as will our results.

"We lost a lot of players at the end of last season and others were involved with the national team and didn't really take part in our pre-season training. Our organisation hasn't been ideal."