Kuala Lumpur: It’s do-or-die in Group A of the AFF Suzuki Cup on Saturday as Malaysia take on Myanmar at Bukik Jalil Stadium with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs.

With three games played ahead of the final group stage encounter, Myanmar sit on top of the standings, level on points with Vietnam and one ahead of the Malaysians.

Vietnam take on already-eliminated Cambodia in Hanoi and will be favourites to claim three points, meaning Malaysia will almost certainly need victory to progress while Myanmar would advance to the last four if they avoid defeat.

“It will be a very important match and we need the three points, but we have to respect the opponent because Myanmar are playing well, so it won’t be an easy game,” said Malaysia coach Tan Cheng Hoe, whose side won their opening two games against Cambodia and Laos before defeat to Vietnam.

“As a coach, I want my players to be fully focussed when they go onto the pitch because the crucial moments are when mistakes can happen. I’m sure playing at home can be a good motivation for us.

“We lost 2-0 to Vietnam but we have to stick to our philosophy and believe in the way we are playing. Myanmar will have the strategy to play on the counter-attack so we have to be very careful when we go forward.”

Semi-finalists in 2016, Myanmar remain unbeaten in the current campaign after coming from behind to defeat Cambodia and Laos and then playing out a scoreless draw with Vietnam in Yangon.

The stalemate against the Vietnamese meant Antoine Hey’s side go into the game in pole position, but they are well aware the group is on a knife edge with three teams battling it out for two qualification places.

With a near capacity crowd anticipated at the stunning Bukit Jalil Stadium, the stage is set for a gripping encounter which has the potential to be among the highlights of the tournament.

“We have a full squad, no injuries and no suspensions, so all the players are highly motivated and ready to go. We can’t wait for the match to start and we hope for a full stadium with a fantastic atmosphere,” said Hey.

“Of our 23-player squad, 20 players have already been in action, so we have been adapting our line-up accordingly so that we have fresh players and good options on the bench. We know they need to win and we need a point, but no team can go into a match and look for a draw.

"We have watched their three matches and have seen they had a lot of possession against Vietnam, but they conceded two goals and couldn’t create too many chances. They struggled in Cambodia because of the surface but they won, but we are more looking to what we have to do.”