It is barely a month after they won the 2015 edition of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League and two-time winners Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC has been notified who will be one of their group stage opponents in next year's tournament.

After the drawing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, Guangzhou Evergrande was picked to join Group H together with last season's A-League runners-up Sydney FC.

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The two teams will be joined by a team from Japan, most probably Gamba Osaka if they will not win the ongoing Emperor's Cup and another team from the playoff stage, which most probably be South Korean Club Pohang Steelers, according to Xinhuanet.

Guangzhou will first meet Sydney in the second matchday of the group stage on March 2nd next year at the Sydney Football Stadium and then one more time at the Tianhe Stadium on May 3rd.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage of the 2016 Champions League where a new champion will be crowned after the two-legged final on November 19th and 26th.

The Southern China Tigers, led by Brazilian manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, will surely be keen on repeating as champs and capture their third AFC title in four years.

Four Four Two reported that the defending champions are "not worried about facing Sydney FC", which is perhaps one of the strongest teams in the competitions next year.

The Australian squad is virtually unfamiliar for the Asian powerhouse and Evergrande has had a history of struggling against Aussie competitors, particularly the Western Sydney Wanderers who eliminated them in the 2014 quarterfinals, 2-2 on away goals, which kept them from defending their crown.

The Wanderers went on to win the 2014 title before Guangzhou came back to retrieve the championship this year.

Evergrande president Liu Yongzhou said that the team acknowledges "the growing strength of Australian sides", but added that they are still confident about their chances in defending their title next year.

"Australian teams are strong so we will always have to face them, every year. Sydney is a strong team but again, we are not worried about facing this team. You should ask Sydney how they feel about facing the Asian champion," Liu said.

TagsChina Football News, China Football News 2015, Sydney FC, 2016 AFC Champions League