They crashed out of Asia's top-tier competition earlier this month after losing to Armed Forces of Singapore in a penalty shootout in the qualifying round, forcing them to start in the second-tier AFC Cup.

Caroliners coach Kim Pan-gon has urged his charges to rise to the occasion.

'This is a big match and the players should have the motivation to do well,' the South Korean said.

'I have little worry about their form as we are in the middle of the season, but many of the players have been playing a lot recently. Mentally and physically, they are tired, but they must overcome this to win the big match.'

Most of the South China players were featured in the Hong Kong team for the East Asian Championships when they took on the region's three top powers - South Korea, Japan, and China - in Tokyo this month.

After their players returned from Tokyo last week, the Caroliners were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Citizen in the league last Saturday.

Forward Tales Schutz pulled his hamstring against Citizen and Kim said the Brazilian has a 50-50 chance of starting in tonight's match, while marksman Chan Siu-ki needs another four weeks before he can play again because of an ankle injury.

'We still have players to take up the role up front, such as Chao Pengfei and Lee Wai-lim, hopefully it won't affect us too much,' said Kim.

The Thai visitors have sent a strong squad for the game against the Hong Kong champions.

Ten of their players started in the Kor Royal Cup on Saturday when they beat Thai Port 2-0 to lift the trophy, including goalscorer Kone Mohamed from Ivory Coast.

But their victory was marred by crowd violence in which several Muang Thong fans were injured. Now, captain Nattaporn Panrit has asked his teammates to beat South China for their fans.

'Everybody is fully fit, however we are still thinking about the fans who were injured in Kor Royal Cup,' he said.

'The most important thing now is to do our best against South China. We hope to win for all of our fans.'