South China coach Casemiro Mior is expecting to play mind games with his predecessor Mario Gomez when the Caroliners face Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim in the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup in August. Brazilian Mior replaced Gomez as South China coach less than two months ago when the Argentine left Hong Kong to take the helm at the ambitious southern Malaysian club. Hong Kong champions Kitchee, meanwhile, were given an even harder assignment at yesterday's draw in Kuala Lumpur. They were pitted against Kuwait SC, the three-time winners who beat South China in the 2009 AFC Cup semi-finals. Said Mior: "Gomez will know our team very well because he was the coach of South China quite recently. He will know what to do against our players. Therefore it will be tough for us. "But at the same time, our players will be familiar with his style. We will try to predict each other's tactics. "We will have to focus and show respect to the Malaysian team. They are strong and have very good players and we will need to prepare well, but we believe we can reach the next stage." Mior returned to South China for his third stint as coach last month. He first coached the team from 1998 to 2003 before heading home to Brazil. He was lured back in 2006 and went on to win the league, Senior Shield and FA Cup in 2007. He then joined Eastern for one season before returning to Brazil. Gomez was in charge of the Caroliners for six months. Both Hong Kong teams play their first legs away. Johor host the opening match on August 25 while Kitchee play in Kuwait one day later. Gomez will know our team very well because he was the coach of South China quite recently. He will know what to do against our players Casemiro Mior South China host Johor in the second leg on September 15 and Kitchee meet Kuwait in Hong Kong on September 16. Johor finished top of group F in the round-robin stages, their only loss being a 2-0 defeat by Kitchee at Mong Kok Stadium in March. However, the Malaysian side emerged 2-0 winners when they hosted the Hong Kong side in April. Johor reached the quarter-finals with a 5-0 victory over Myanmar's Ayeyawady United in the last 16 while South China, who won group G with maximum points from six matches, beat India's Bengaluru FC 2-0. Mohd Fahmy Yahya, honorary secretary of Johor DT, said beating Kitchee at home did not give his side the advantage against the Caroliners. "They are both from Hong Kong, but you have to treat each team differently," he said. "All I can say is that we will be prepared for South China, it will be a tough game, but we are confident of reaching the semi-finals." Mior said he had the players to overcome Johor, but was worried about adequate preparation time. "Hong Kong football goes through a holiday period in July and August so I won't have much time to be with the players," he said. "But still, I think we are good enough to go through."