Guangzhou Evergrande will clinch the Chinese Super League title on Sunday evening with a win over Yanbian Funde, but head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has warned his players not to take victory for granted against a side struggling at the wrong end of the standings.
Guangzhou, who are seven points clear of second-placed Jiangsu Suning with three games remaining, could claim a record sixth straight title in front of their own fans at Tianhe Stadium against a team currently 12th in the standings.
"Anything can happen in football," Scolari said. "In the first game of the season, we managed to draw the game in the final second, so we have to respect Yanbian. A team who don't respect their opponents is not worthy of any respect itself.
"The best way to celebrate tomorrow is with a win and it is my responsibility to bring the trophy to this city. We have to do our best tomorrow and share the glory with our fans."
Yanbian earned a point when the teams met earlier in the season in a match in which Bubacarr Trawally gave his side the lead only for Guangzhou's Yu Hanchao to score two minutes from time to secure a share of the points for Scolari and his team.
Guangzhou currently have 60 points from 27 games, seven more than Jiangsu, but should Scolari's men lose against Yanbian they will travel to Nanjing to meet Jiangsu on Wednesday in what would be a major test of their nerve.
Tianhe Stadium will be full for the game and Scolari said his team has no injury worries ahead of the clash.
"It is not easy to have a whole week to rest between two matches," the Brazilian said. "We have been preparing for this games since our last match and the players are all in good shape.
"This match is a title-winning match, everybody knows it. I hope we can deliver it tomorrow.
"Although the match is tomorrow, I really want to say thank you to the fans. I asked for your support in my last press conference and now I see the tickets are all sold out. The fans are important to us and we can only go so far without your help.
"Tomorrow we will show the world that we are a great team that can stay on top of the league for so many years."