Sabah come into this one off the back of a frustrating 0-1 home defeat to Terengganu in the Malaysian Super League back in May. That result at Likas Stadium will sting — they had the crowd behind them, the familiar heat of Borneo, and still couldn't find a way through. It's a reminder that Sabah can be blunt in attack when the opposition sits deep and dares them to break it down. But look closer: that was a league game against a side that knows exactly how to play the low block in Malaysian conditions. This is a different beast entirely.

Aarhus Fremad, meanwhile, are riding a wave. Their recent 3-1 home win over Køge in the Danish 1st Division shows they've got goals in them — three on the day, and they looked sharp in the final third. But here's the catch: that was at Riisvangen Stadion, on their own patch, in familiar Danish weather. This is a trip to the other side of the planet, to a stadium and climate they've never experienced. The travel alone — the time zones, the humidity, the pitch — can knock a team off its rhythm. We've seen it a hundred times: Scandinavian sides come to Southeast Asia and look like they're playing in treacle.

Momentum is a real thing, and Aarhus have it on paper. But momentum is fragile when you're 10,000 kilometres from home. Sabah, for all their recent disappointment, are a proud state side with a point to prove. They'll see this as a chance to reset, to show that the Terengganu loss was a blip. At Likas Stadium, with the home support roaring, we fancy them to bounce back.