Ceres Negros hopes to gain an early advantage when it clashes with Singaporean side Home United on Wednesday in the first leg of the AFC Cup Asean zonal finals at Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore.
The Busmen, who reached the final with a stunning upset of Johor Darul Ta’zim of Malaysia, added Stephan Schrock and Omid Nazari to beef up the squad while Patrick Reichelt is also expected to return from injury.
The winner of the two-leg final advances to the inter-zonal semifinals against Istiklol of Tajikistan. Ceres will host the second leg on Aug. 9.
Serbian coach Risto Vidakovic would rather have his squad seize control of the tie early with a strong performance in the first leg kicking off at 7:30 p.m.
“We reached the final because we fought and played as a team against strong teams. We have to do the same to get a good result for us to have control when we play at home,” said Vidakovic.