Buriram United head coach Alexandre Gama hopes to lead his team to victory when they take on J-League opponents Albirex Niigata in the Toyota Premier Cup today.
Burirum United beat Si Sa Ket to win the Toyota League Cup in November.
The match, which will take place at Buriram’s home ground I-Mobile Stadium, will be shown live on Thai Rath TV commencing at 6.30pm.
Buriram are the reigning Toyota League Cup champions.
“The Toyota Premier Cup match is one of the most important matches for our team,” said Gama.
“We have lot of information about Albirex Niigata and we will be ready for the match."
“This match will also be our chance to show our potential before going on to play in the AFC Champions League where we have a team from the J-League in our group,” added Gama.
“We want to win the match and hope it will be the first trophy of the year for our team."
The Buriram coach also added the players are still not 100 percent in their preparation as the match is their first competitive game of year.
“But for our fans we will try our best to win it,” added Gama.
Buriram defender Naruebodin Weerawatnodom said: “We will not underestimate the Japanese team. The quality of their league is much stronger than the Thai league.
“We have played against Gamba Osaka before and we know that Japanese teams play with good short passes. We must play a quick pressing game as is the style of our team.
“We will try to win it in 90 minutes,” added the Thailand defender.
Albirex Niigata coach Yosida Tatsuma said: “It is a good opportunity that Toyota has invited our team to play here. We know very well that Buriram are a good team, but we are confident that we will win the trophy.”