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Sven-Goran Eriksson is hoping captain Sun Xiang can shake off a cold to lead Shanghai SIPG into their Asian Champions League meeting with Jeonbuk Motors on Tuesday as the former England coach goes into the first leg without the services of South American duo Hulk and Dario Conca. Argentinian Conca, a winner of the continental title with Guangzhou Evergrande in 2013, sustained a knee injury in Saturday's 2-1 win over Shijiazhuang Everbright in the Chinese Super League while Hulk has only featured once for the club since his record-breaking €55 million transfer in June. "We have prepared very well," Eriksson said. "Now we have a full squad except Conca and Hulk. Our skipper, Sun Xiang, caught a cold so he was not at today's training, but hopefully he will be back tomorrow. "We have had lots of injuries recently. Conca is injured too, but the most unfortunate is Hulk. He has only played for us for 17 minutes and he had to leave again. Injuries to crucial players can be very tough on us." Shanghai are appearing in the quarterfinals of the competition for the first time and are joined by compatriots Shandong Luneng, who meet former champions FC Seoul on Wednesday. The strong showing in the tournament so far this year has Eriksson believing Chinese clubs are making their mark at continental level. "This is the first time that Shanghai SIPG have played in the Asian Champions League quarterfinals," he said. "So far this season we've been doing well in this competition. Not only Elkeson, but also Kim Ju-Young and Sun Xiang are also very experienced in the Champions League but I hope experience won't be decisive to the result. "I admit that in the old days, there were big gaps between Chinese teams and other teams in the region such as Japanese teams, Korean or Australian teams. But Chinese football is on the right track and improving. "For example, we have two Chinese teams in the quarterfinals as evidence of that. Also Guangzhou Evergrande have won the title twice, so Chinese teams are getting there and the so-called gap will disappear very soon." Eriksson is expecting a difficult 90 minutes against the Korean side, who won the continental title under current coach Choi Kang-hee back in 2006 and are the reigning South Korean champions. "Our opponent is physically very strong, and they always have aggressive tactics," the Swede said. "But we will stick to our own style. Jeonbuk fight harder than any Chinese team, so if we don't follow our own tempo it will be very difficult to win. "Not only from theory but also from reality, Jeonbuk are a very strong team. But we are very motivated to beat them. Although we have some injuries, we still have Kim Ju-Young and Elkeson with all of our good Chinese players. If we work as a team, it can gain us a win."
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