Nishino was delighted with the omission due to injury of Victory star Archie Thompson but said news of the former QPR man's form has reached him in Japan.

“Obviously Archie Thompson was one of the players we've been marking [watching]," he admitted. "And when we got here we were informed that he wasn't playing. So as a striker his loss is very significant.

“But also after the [trial] game Victory played in Adelaide, we have heard of the reputation of a player called Nick Ward.

"And I think he probably be part of the attacking area and we believe Victory will still have a strong team functionality between team members.”

The J-League coach also admitted his side isn't in great physical shape after arriving in Melbourne following three games in one week in the J-League.

He added: “Obviously we have a very tight schedule of matches in the J-League right now. And also we had a very challenging game in Korea for the ACL recently. And on top of that we've had to travel a long way from Japan.

“To be honest with you, I'm not really regarding our team's condition right now as the best."

According to travelling Japanese journalists, Osaka is not expected to make wholesale changes from the side that played last Saturday against Shimizu in a 2-0 win for Nishino's side.

This, according to them, was largely the same XI that played against Oita three days earlier and Tokyo Verdy the previous Sunday.

Gamba Osaka sits on four points from two games in the ACL alongside Chonburi FC. Victory has three points and sits in third.