Adelaide United FC could welcome back strike force Paul Agostino and Bruce Djite for the do or die AFC Champions League 2008 clash with Chinese champions Changchun Yatai.

After defeating the Pohang Steelers 1-0 last night, The Reds can now focus for the match in China on May 21, a game they must draw or win to finish ahead of Changchun Yatai and progress to the next stage.

Agostino and Djite will be hoping to be available for the match in northern China, The Reds attempting to make history as the first Australian club to qualify for the second round of the prestigious competition.

Agostino has only played 25 minutes in United’s AFC Champions League campaign so far (against Binh Duong in Match Day 4), the club’s marquee player having finally got over a quad injury but then getting a bout of chicken pox.

Djite has missed six weeks with a serious hamstring injury he incurred while on international duty with the Qantas Socceroos, however the extended gap between AFC Champions League matches has given the 21 year old extra time to recover and regain full fitness.

United Coach Aurelio Vidmar is optimistic of having Agostino and Djite for the trip to China, but is cautious in how to manage the duo on their comebacks.

“We should have Ago and Bruce to come into the travelling party but once again, Ago hasn’t played a full game since December, Bruce hasn’t played for the last six weeks so whether they start I’m not too sure,” Vidmar said.

The duo’s possible return could help to cover the hole left by star midfielder Diego, who will miss the final match after receiving two yellow cards in the competition, resulting in an automatic one match suspension.

“We’re definitely going to miss his presence in the middle of the park but that’s the way it goes,” Vidmar said.

The Adelaide United boss is yet to decide on a replacement for Diego, hinting that Nathan Burns, Kristian Sarkies or Jason Spagnuolo are all possibilities to fill the role.

The Reds prepare to head to China full of confidence having registered 13 points, and leading Group E for the entire competition so far, and Vidmar believes the team will not change its game plan for the crucial encounter.

“It was extremely important that we won (against Pohang) and I’m reasonably happy that we can go there needing only a point because I think if we had to go there looking to win, it would be a lot tougher than it is,” Vidmar said.

“I think we’ll just go there the way we’ve been setting up for this whole competition. We keep things really tight, nice and compact, our shape as a team has been very good and we’ll go there with the same frame of mind.”