Buriram United FC coach Mark Jackson is confident his side can overcome the absence of suspended duo Guilherme Bissoli and Goran Čaušić when the defending champions face off against Selangor FC in Wednesday’s first leg of the 2025/26 ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ final.Bissoli, the tournament’s joint-top scorer with seven goals, and influential midfielder Čaušić will be missing from the encounter at MBPJ Stadium in Selangor after both were sent off in extra-time of Buriram United’s dramatic second leg meeting with Johor Darul Ta’zim FC last week.Buriram United lost the match against the Malaysia Super League champions 2-1 but prevailed 4-3 on aggregate due to Kingsley Schindler’s extra-time goal to progress to a second successive Shopee Cup™ showpiece.“Losing players like that is a massive loss, but as a group we will find a way,” said Jackson. “That is why we have a squad and it also creates opportunities for other players.“Of course it is a concern, but it is my job to prepare the team. We will get ready and we will give opportunities to others to step up and make our fans proud again.”The meeting will be the second between the teams in the 2025/26 Shopee Cup™ after the pair shared a 1-1 draw in the opening round of the Group Stage in Buriram in August.Former Buriram United striker Chrigor Moraes, who scored all four of Selangor’s goals in their 4-1 aggregate win over Nam Ðinh FC in the semi-finals, gave the Malaysia Super League side the lead, only for Peter Žulj to net a late equaliser for Buriram United.Osmar Loss, who led Buriram United to last season’s title, was in charge for the opening game but the Brazilian coach was replaced by Jackson in October, with the Englishman leading the club on their charge to the final.Jackson oversaw two wins and a draw to take Buriram United into the knock-out rounds, where they eliminated JDT over two matches, and he returns with to Malaysia to face Selangor confident his team will be ready for the first leg meeting.“Myself and the staff always study everything in depth about the opponent, the venue, the weather conditions and all the details around the match,” he said.“The preparation behind the scenes from the staff at the club has been fantastic and we will be fully prepared for the final.”Like Jackson, Selangor coach Kim Pan-gon is a recent arrival at his current employers with the K League 1 winning coach taking the reins in January as the long-term replacement for Japan’s Katsuhito Kinoshi.The former Malaysia and Ulsan HD boss has had a stellar record since his appointment, winning 15, drawing five and losing just one of his 21 matches in charge, including the comprehensive victory over Nam Ðinh in the semi-finals.Chrigor’s five goals in the Shopee Cup™ and the performances of Malaysia international winger Faisal Halim have been instrumental in Selangor’s progress to a meeting with Buriram United that Kim feels is warranted. “I think we deserve to reach the final,” said Kim. “We want to challenge ourselves against anybody and we deserve to be there. We will try our best to give the best performance possible to our Red Giants supporters.”Selangor will host the first leg of the final on Wednesday at MBPJ Stadium with the return clash to be held at Buriram Stadium on May 27.
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