Last season's Chinese Super League runners-up Jiangsu Suning FC will kick off their "redemption" campaign in the 2017 AFC Champions League tournament with a match against K-League Classic squad Jeju United FC on the road at the Jeju World Cup Stadium on Wednesday.

Jiangsu Suning failed to qualify for the knockout stage of last year's Champions League competitions after placing third in Group E behind eventual champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea and Japan's FC Tokyo.

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This time, though, Jiangsu head coach Choi Yong-Soo, who joined the squad in midseason last year, has vowed to improve on the team's disappointing 2016 campaign and is targeting a knockout stage finish for the Nanjing outfit.

"We haven't forgotten the shame of last season," said Choi, also referring to their runner-up finishes in the Chinese Super League and Chinese FA Cup to Guangzhou Evergrande, according to ESPN.

"In the new season, we will work hard with our team, the staff, and the club, and with the support of our fans, we will try to reach our target for the season. We won't be afraid of any opponent," the coach said.

"Of course, I want to win the Asian Champions League. In order to have a long journey in the competition, we have to qualify from our group first," he added.

Choi praised their opening game opponents, Jeju United, saying the club has "many new good players" and that they are well organized under head coach Jo Sung-hwan.

"They (Jeju) started their preparation earlier than us, and they have been on a competition footing earlier than us," Choi said. "We haven't reached where we should be yet. Therefore we have to be prepared for a tough game. This is the first Asian Champions League match, and we have to know it is going to be extremely difficult."

Jeju, who finished third in the Korea top-flight last season, has acquired the services of Australia defender Aleksandar Jovanovic from CSL side Tianjin Teda last week, Sporting News reported.

Jovanovic's presence will further reinforce Jeju's strong backline that includes Oh Ban-suk, Kweon Han-jin, and Chung Woon.

Meanwhile, Jiangsu has Brazilians Alex Teixeira and Ramires as their main imports this season with Colombian striker Roger Martinez, and South Korean Hong Jeong-ho are their other foreigners.

TagsAFC Champions League, AFC Champions League 2017, 2017 AFC Champions League group stage, Jiangsu Suning FC, Jeju United FC