Western Sydney Wanderers v Al Hilal: A-League side eye clean sheet

Western Sydney defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley understands the importance of the AFC Champions League final first leg against Al Hilal.

The A-League surprise package have reached the decider in their maiden campaign in the competition, and host the first leg in Parramatta on Saturday.

Al Hilal, two-time champions, arrived in Australia on Monday via private jet and are fancied to win the two-legged final.

But Wanderers centre-back Topor-Stanley insists his team believe they can get the job done, and hopes they can avoid conceding at home.

“The home leg against Al Hilal is massive, but we know that on our day we can beat anyone at home,” he told the AFC website.

“We just need to concentrate on preparing to the best of our ability, doing the job at home and hopefully preventing them from scoring and get a good win.”

Western Sydney have made a poor start to their A-League campaign, losing their opening two matches and conceding seven goals.

Defensive improvement will be the focus for coach Tony Popovic, whose team have built their success on a strong back four.

Al Hilal are without the suspended Yasser Al-Qahtani, but forward Nasser Al-Shamrani has netted 10 Champions League goals this campaign.

Defender Kwak Tae-hwi hopes his previous experience can help his team in the final.

“I won the AFC Champions League with Ulsan two years ago and then I moved to Saudi Arabia and have also qualified for the AFC Champions League final,” Kwak told the AFC website.

“A second victory in the AFC Champions League would re-write history for myself and Al Hilal. The AFC Champions League is very big and I hope to win the AFC Champions League again.

“My experience of winning the AFC Champions League gave me a huge boost. And now we have qualified for the AFC Champions League final, I will try and pass on that to my team-mates to make sure we win the AFC Champions League.”