After nine months of enthralling action, it all boils down to the final 90 minutes -- and perhaps a bit more -- at Chang Arena in Buriram on Wednesday evening.
The second leg of the final of the ASEAN Club Championship -- officially known as the 2025-26 Shopee Cup -- will see last season's winners Buriram United look to hold on to a 1-0 lead they obtained over Selangor in the opening encounter a week ago.
On paper, Buriram remain favourites to successfully defend their regional crown but, if recent history is anything to go by, they can ill afford to let any complacency creep in.
Just a fortnight ago, the Thai League 1 champions were cruising in the semifinals against Johor Darul Ta'zim after an impressive 3-1 first-leg triumph away from home -- only to subsequently require extra-time to seal their place in the decider after a stirring fightback from the opposition.
And having seen their fellow Malaysia Super League outfit cause quite a stir at Buriram's usually-impregnable home fortress has given Selangor an idea of how they could pose similar problems.
"[It will be] very important," said Selangor coach Kim Pan-Gon, when asked in Tuesday's pre-match news conference if they would be looking to score an early goal.
"After Buriram scored the first goal in the first leg, they dropped deeper and it became very tough for us.
"Tomorrow, scoring early will be very important and we have made plans for that. It should be a very exciting game."
Selangor's cause has not been helped by the absence of key duo Mohammad Abualnadi and Noor Al-Rawabdeh, who are said to have already joined up with Jordan for their FIFA World Cup debut preparations.
While Kim acknowledged that they are both key players for his side, he insists that Selangor are not a team that is reliant on individuals -- and they certainly do still possess potential game changers in Chrigor, Alvin Fortes and Faisal Abdul Halim.
Although it was Chrigor who sent them into the final, having scored all four goals in their 4-1 aggregate win over Thép Xanh Nam Định in the semis, Faisal had previously been the standout for them with as many strikes in the group stage to fire them into the knockout round.
"I think one goal is not a big difference," said Faisal. "We understand what the coach wants from us from tomorrow's game.
"This is our last game of the season. We have nothing to save and nothing to lose. We have 90 minutes, maybe 120 minutes. People want to see games like this -- both teams attacking and defending and fighting for the title.
"We want to show everyone that we can compete at this level. We need to fight until the end and fight for this cup.
"At the very least, we want to give a good fight to our opponents."
And while Buriram are aware that they could once again have a battle on their hands against a spirited Selangor outfit who have risen to the occasion all campaign long, there is enough confidence that they are good enough to retain their status as champions of Southeast Asia.
"My expectation is to lift this thing [the trophy] sitting next to me right now," said Buriram's on-field captain Kenny Dougall.
"Obviously we are confident going into the final with a goal advantage but, if you look at [what happened in] the semifinal, it could also be a disadvantage.
"We need to be fully focused and looking to win the game.
"Obviously, we are very confident. It is our expectation to win the trophy.
"We know it is never going to be easy but, at this football club, there is an expectation to win trophies, so that is what we are trying to do tomorrow night."
While Selangor will be missing two important members of their team, Buriram will welcome back a key duo of their own in Guilherme Bissoli and Goran Čaušić -- who were both suspended last week after being sent off against JDT.
Buriram suffered a bit of a scare in the first leg when match-winner Suphanat Mueanta was stretchered off in the second half, although coach Mark Jackson allayed any fears that he had picked up another injury by revealing his star forward had simply ran himself to the ground -- as he continues to work his way back to full fitness.
It means that Buriram could be fielding their formidable first-choice strike trio of Bissoli, Suphanat and Supachai Jaided, which could go a long way in fending off any potential Selangor revival.
"Bissoli is back in training, so that is a big boost for us," said Buriram coach Mark Jackson. "A player of that quality and a player who can score goals at the level he does is very important
"Everybody else in the squad is fit as well, so I have problems as a coach. We have had a good week to recover the players, but also work with the players on how we want to approach this game.
"We feel full of energy and full of confidence. The players have shown that particularly in the last two days in training. We are always confident about our ability and that is something we try to put into our players, especially playing at our home ground.
"But we do not underestimate this game. I think if you do that, it would be very foolish."