Singaporean Clubs set to start AFC Cup campaign.

After the disappointment of this week's Champion's League playoffs, which saw three ASEAN teams fail in their quest to progress to the group stages of the continent's premier competition, much of the region will be shifting its attention to this year's AFC Cup. Two Singaporean teams, Home United and Tampines Rovers will be in action next week as the group stage of the tournament kicks off.

This year is the 15th edition of the AFC Cup. A tournament for club teams from 14 of the less developed leagues in Asia. Think of it as an Asian UEFA Cup and you get the idea. 36 teams will compete in the group stage which is split into 5 regional sections, the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each from Central Asia (Group D), South Asia (Group E) and East Asia (Group I). Last year's champions were Air Force club from Iraq, who won the trophy a record third time in a row. This year, Air Force are playing in the champions league blowing the AFC Cup wide open and promising a competitive tournament this year.

The AFC Cup, in its current form, started in 2004 and has been dominated by teams from the West Asian region, having been won by Middle Eastern clubs 14 times. The only team to break this stranglehold was Johor Darul Ta'zim in 2015. 10 other teams from 6 ASEAN countries will be joining the two Singaporean teams and looking to follow in Johor's footsteps and lift the trophy on 2 November. Hanoi FC and Becamex Binh Duong will represent Vietnam, Ceres–Negros & Kaya–Iloilo from the Phillipines, Persija Jakarta and PSM Makassar from Indonesia, Yangon United & Shan United from Myanmar, Naga World from Cambodia and Lao Toyota from Laos. The winner from each of the three groups will be joined by the best runner up in a two legged zonal semi final followed by a two legged zonal final. The winner of the zonal final moves on to play against the winners of the other zones.

Last season, the same two teams represented Singapore in the AFC Cup but had very different experiences. Tampines finished bottom of their group after losing all but one game. However, a battling draw at home against Malaysian Champions Johor was undoubtedly the highlight for them. Home United, on the other hand, had an unforgettable run in the tournament which saw them win the ASEAN zone final against Ceres-Negros on the eve of the National Day in front of 3,392 ecstatic fans. The fantastic run to the final also saw Home silence the 62,000+ Persija supporters in a memorable semi final in Jakarta which Home won 3-1. Home went on to play North Korean side April 25 in the inter-zonal final and succumbed 9-1 in Pyongyang after a couple of slightly dodgy refereeing decisions went against them.

Tampines Rovers have been handed another tough group in this years edition of the tournament. Tampines toughest game of the group will likely be against one of the region's most talked about teams, Vietnamese champions Hanoi FC. Hanoi were only one game away from making it into this year's Asian Champions League and are widely tipped to go far in the AFC cup this year and are perhaps ASEAN's best hope for braking the domination of West Asia. Despite losing some of their star names to bigger teams following Vietnam's great perfomance in the Asian Cup, they can still field a number of game changers such as Nguyen Quang Hai and captain Nguyen Van Quyet. The creative brilliance of 21 year old Nguyen Quang Hai, who floats around the centre of midfield, provides the creative energy around which the rest of the team revolves. Tampines will need to find a way of containing him if they are to get anything in this tie. Hanoi have already lifted silverware this season and are likely to be too much for the Stags. To make matters worse, Tampines will also have to cope with Myanmar double winners Yangon United who they will face next . Yangon performed well in the AFC Cup last year, narrowly losing their semi-final against Ceres-Negros despite winning the first leg. Yangon look to have improved their team this year by signing the strong Brazilian Central Midfielder Vinicius Miller, who scored in the preliminary rounds of this year's ACL with a stunning free kick. The Brazilian will likely partner Maung Maung Lwin in the midfield. The 23 year old Myanmar international had the joint second highest number of assists in last year’s competition. The fourth side in Tampines' group are Cambodian champions Nagaworld who are making their second appearance in the AFC Cup. Nagaworld managed a draw with Hougang during pre-season so shouldn't be underestimated but in this group I expect them to be just making up the numbers.

Home United have been handed a much easier looking group. Their main contenders in the group are likely to be Indonesia's PSM Makassar who finished second in the Liga 1 last year. Much of their play comes through their two Dutch midfielders, Marc Klock and club captain Wiljan Pluim, while the sight of former Real Madrid Striker Eero Markkanen is likely to cause the Home defence a few problems, especially given their tendency to struggle with crosses. Home are perhaps lucky to be facing PSM first as the Indonesian team will likely be a few weeks behind in their preparations given the later start to the Indonesian league. However, having watched PSM put 9 past Perseru last week, with Markkanen getting four, it looks like they will be a tough test for Home. Lao Toyota, who won the Laos league for the second year in a row last year, should prove easier opposition for Home. They finished bottom of their AFC group in both 2015 and 2016 and failed to progress beyond the preliminary rounds in 2017 and 2018. Japanese veteran Kazuo Honma was top scorer in the Laos League last year with an incredible 21 goals in 14 games. Despite his advancing years he is unlikely to be dropped by his compatriot Jun Fukuda and is expected to be their main threat as they try and hit teams on the counter attack. Kaya FC, who finished second in the Philippines last year, albeit 11 points behind the champions, are making their second appearance in the AFC Cup. After losing their star striker Robert Lopez Mendy to the Malaysian Super League and changing their manager it is not clear where the goals will come from. Having to play their home games at arch rival Ceres's ground might also hinder the chances of the young, hungry Filipino team. Expect Kaya to cause Home and PSM a few problems and maybe even pick up points against them but ultimately I expect them to finish 3rd in the group.

Both Home and Tampines have huge games next week. If Tampines are to get anything from their group they need to be keeping things tight away toYangon and try to repeat the defensive heroics they showed last year against Johor. If they come back from Myanmar with a draw they should be very happy. Home need nothing less than a win against PSM. The advantage of playing in front of their own fans and the fact that their fitness levels should be higher than PSM's at this stage of the season should be enough to see them through. They need to keep Markkanen quiet until he starts to tire before looking to catch the Red Fish on the counter attack, the stamina and intelligence of Song Uiyoung is Home's greatest weapon. The Korean born midfielder, who is currently considering taking Singaporean citizenship, scored an impressive 9 goals in the AFC cup last year. If Home are able to win the midfield battle against Klock and Pluim they should not only cut off Markkanen's supply but also give the opportunity to deliver the through balls which Song thrives on.

Let me know if you agree with my predictions or if you can tell me anymore about the teams in this year's AFC Cup. If you like the blog please follow me on Twitter for regular updates. See you all on February 27th for Home vs PSM!