Korea's Ulsan Hyundai host Australia's Newcastle Jets on Wednesday in a head-to-head battle for the runners-up spot in Group E and a place in the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League.
Newcastle's last-gasp 2-1 victory over Beijing Guoan two weeks ago put them on seven points, one ahead of Ulsan. The Korean side lost 4-1 away to Japan's Nagoya Grampus, who moved to 11 points and secured top spot.
Newcastle went behind to a 69th-minute goal from former Jet Ryan Griffiths before Sasho Petrovski equalised with an 88th-minute volley and young substitute Sean Rooney snatched the winner with a left-foot curler in the final seconds of injury-time.
"We'll go to Ulsan with a lot of confidence after a match like that. We've got a never-say-die attitude and the players are really starting to gel," said coach Gary van Egmond, whose team need a point to qualify.
The second-placed side will face an away tie against the Group H winners, decided by Tuesday's clash between Japan's Kawasaki Frontale and Pohang Steelers, the Korean FA Cup holders.
Nagoya, one of three unbeaten teams in the east zone, visit Beijing for their last group match, having already secured a home tie against the Group G runners-up in the round of 16.
Nagoya are one of four Japanese clubs to have already secured their places in the knockout stage, along with Pohang. The east-zone round of 16 matches will be held on June 24, while the west-zone games are next Wednesday, on May 27.
Gamba Osaka will look to record their sixth straight win in Group F when they host FC Seoul, who thrashed Indonesian champions Sriwijaya 5-1 earlier this month to join Shandong Luneng on seven points.
Gamba, the reigning champions, beat Shandong 1-0 in Jinan to stretch their unbeaten run in the AFC Champions League to 17 matches.
Even if Seoul beat Gamba, Shandong can secure second place by beating struggling Sriwijaya in Palembang as the Chinese champions have a better head-to-head record against the Korean club.
