Esteghlal came into the Matchday Five fixture in the knowledge that only a win could keep their qualification hopes alive, and they started brightly, coming within inches of opening the scoring in the 12th minute.

South African midfielder Ayanda Patosi beat Al Duhail goalkeeper Amine Lecomte with a curled free-kick from 30 yards out. Esteghlal were, however, denied the opener as Patosi’s ball struck the upright.

Al Duhail responded from a similar set-piece through Bassam Al Rawi, but the Qatari international’s strike passed narrowly wide of the post.

The 2018 finalists came into the match needing a victory to boost their hopes of reaching the Round of 16, instead Persepolis were eliminated from the Continental tournament.

The Iraqi side suffered a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Al Nassr in their last outing and they find themselves third in the group, trailing the Saudi side by two points.

Hakeem Shaker’s men started the campaign brightly, earning a point on the road against Zobahan before recording a 5-0 victory against Al Wasl in Karbala. Back-to-back defeats to Al Nassr left them reeling, but their hopes of progress remain alive with two games to go.

Laurentiu Reghecampf’s men are bottom of the group with three points, having failed to add to their 1-0 win against Al Nasr on the opening matchday. A defeat at King Fahd International Stadium will consign the Dubai-based side to group stage exit for the second year running.

Al Wasl go into the match without domestic distractions, having secured top-flight survival with three games to go in a disappointing UAE Pro League campaign.

Continental giants in danger of elimination, key players returning to form and the chance to erase a painful memory all feature as the-AFC.com picks out five things to look out for on Matchday Five.

Sitting bottom of the group with three points, a win on Tuesday would put Al Rayyan within a point of Al Ittihad, but qualification remains out of their hands as even with six points from their last two games, the Qataris will have to hope other Group B results go their way.

Gilson de Souza’s men come into the Matchday Five fixture buoyed with reaching the Qatar Emir Cup semi-final after defeating rivals Al Arabi on penalties.

The home side are looking to extend their three-match winning run and seal qualification to the knockout stage for the first time since 2007. Meanwhile, the visitors from Uzbekistan need the three points to retain their hopes of progress going into the last matchday.

Despite participating in each of the past four editions of the competition, Lokomotiv only managed to successfully navigate the group stage on one occasion, when they reached the quarter-finals in 2016.