Marcello Lippi said Guangzhou Evergrande will not slip up again in Australia when they face Western Sydney Wanderers in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals this week.
The Italian World Cup-winning coach said he was not concerned by memories of April, when the Chinese champions were shocked 2-0 by Melbourne Victory in the group stage.
Guangzhou resume their campaign after the Champions League’s traditional mid-season break, during which they established a comfortable, 10-point lead in the Chinese Super League.
“Every match is special and unique because of the difference in opposition each time, so the loss against Melbourne Victory earlier in the AFC Champions League does not prove anything,” Lippi said ahead of Wednesday’s first leg at Parramatta Stadium.
“We are investigating our opponent ahead of the quarter-finals and we know that they have changed some players from earlier in the competition, but we have had enough time to analyse those players to ensure that we are fully prepared for these games.”
Western Sydney only came into existence two years ago but the two-time A-League Grand Final runners-up have impressed on their AFC Champions League debut and eliminated J-League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima on away goals in the last 16.
“We showed against the Japanese champions that we can handle pressure against a top opponent, and this is another one,” said Wanderers coach Tony Popovic.
“We expected it to be tough regardless of whom we got and we have got the very best and we want to see how we match up against them.”
Guangzhou became the first Chinese club to win the AFC Champions League when they defeated Korean side FC Seoul on away goals in last year’s final.
They are now looking to become the first team since Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia in 2005 to retain the title.
If Guangzhou get past Western Sydney over the two legs, they could face a rematch in the semis with FC Seoul, who take on K-League rivals Pohang Steelers in the quarter-finals.
The other two quarter-finals kick-off on Tuesday with Al Ittihad travelling to the United Arab Emirates to take on Al Ain for a rematch of the 2005 final.
Meanwhile another Saudi club, Al Hilal, host 2011 winners Al Sadd in Riyadh, just four months after they trounced the Qatari club 5-0 at the same venue during the group stage.