Kitchee out to end 'amazing' April with victory over Singapore's Khalsa in AFC Cup

Kitchee captain Fernando Recio is hopeful his team can put the icing on a memorable April by clinching a berth in the last 16 of the AFC Cup by defeating Singapore's Balestier Khalsa FC at Jalan Besar Stadium tonight.

Kitchee are on the verge of being crowned the inaugural champions of the Premier League. They won the League Cup last Thursday with a smashing 4-0 win over arch-rivals South China and have booked a place in the FA Cup final, albeit with a penalty shoot-out win over YFMCD on Saturday.

But Recio wants more - a place in the knockout phase of the regional second-tier club competition. That will be assured with victory tonight in Singapore.

"It is not going to be easy. We defeated Khalsa 3-0 at home, but playing away is a different ball game. We won't have the support of our fans, it will be very humid and the pitch is very different to what we are used to. It will be a tough match," Recio said.

"We trained on the pitch and it is very fast. But we will stick to our style of play, trying to keep possession," the 32-year-old Spaniard said. "It is a really important match and if we win we enter the next round, which is our target for the moment."