Evergrande faces tricky test in ACL

KUALA LUMPUR - Two-time champion Guangzhou Evergrande has been handed a potentially bumpy ride to the knockout stages of the 2018 Asian Champions League after the draw for the group phase of next year's competition was made on Wednesday.

Evergrande, the title winner in 2013 and 2015, will take on South Korea's Jeju United, Buriram United of Thailand and an as-yet undetermined Japanese representative in Group G when the competition kicks off in February.

Guangzhou's last triumph came under Luiz Felipe Scolari but it exited the competition this year at the quarterfinal stage at the hands of Chinese Super League rival Shanghai SIPG.