Nasaf lead Group A with six points from two matches and should they win on Tuesday, will be in a position of strength. Dempo, meanwhile, have three points from two matches - the same as rivals Al Ansar - and know they cannot afford any slip-ups.

“The winner will qualify for the knockout stage of the competition. I have no doubt about that,” Colaco said.

“The talk in the group is that Nasaf is the strongest of the teams and on their strength, should sail through. In the end there could be only one other spot and three claimants. We need to tread carefully.

“From what we saw of Nasaf, they are a strong side. It’s also true that the standard of competition in the AFC Cup has gone up by a few notches.

“When I saw the group at the start of the competition, I told myself ‘we have a chance’ but two matches and I know this is tougher than I initially thought.”

Colaco is expected to make two changes to the team that were held to a 3-3 draw by lowly Viva Kerala in the last I-League clash.

Iranian Siavash Samienia will take injured Dominic Noronha’s place in the centre of defence while Laxmikant Kattimani will replace India goalkeeper Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, who turned in a shaky performance three days ago.

Meanwhile, Nasaf coach Anatoliy Demayenko disagreed with his Dempo counterpart’s assessment and claimed the battle for the last 16 could go right down to the wire.

“Dempo, despite what they claim, is a strong side and we know that they will come hard at us,” he said.

“We are not leaving anything to chance. Our philosophy has always been to win all games and we will continue to do just that.

“We arrived here a day before the clash. It’s humid here too but as professionals we need to overcome all these factors. It will not be an easy ride against Dempo.

“We have left two of our players behind. That’s not a worry for me. I believe in the team strength and not in individuals. This team is strong enough to overcome all odds.”