With some teams looking to secure their places in the knockout rounds at this early stage and others aiming to keep their qualification hopes alive, the-AFC.com has picked out five things to look out for.

Having crossed the halfway line of the group stage, Matchday Four sees the sides that faced-off two weeks ago trading places with the reverse encounters kicking-off the second half of Groups A to D in West Asia.

First up are the sides in Groups F and H, who will play their Matchday Four fixtures on Tuesday, before the remaining teams in Groups E and G round off the week’s action on Wednesday.

Kim Su-an scored in added time on Matchday Three as 2012 champions Ulsan claimed a 1-0 victory over Kawasaki to move three points clear in Group H ahead of the return meeting at the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium.

But a 1-0 league defeat to Seongnam FC on Saturday and elimination from the Korean FA Cup three days earlier meant Ulsan go into the game on a poor run of form that has seen them surrender top spot in K League 1.

Brazilian Elkeson scored a late equaliser on Matchday Three in a game that saw Shanghai come from behind three times to claim what could prove an invaluable point.

The Chinese Super League champions are in second place in the standings – three points behind table-toppers Ulsan Hyundai – and go into the game on the back of a scoreless draw with Tianjin Tianhai at the weekend.

Douglas Vieira and Daiki Watari got on the scoresheet as Sanfrecce ran out 2-0 winners in the Matchday Three fixture between the pair to leave both sides – and China’s Guangzhou Evergrande – on six points at the Group F summit.

But since that defeat, Daegu have been in fine form domestically and they recorded a 3-0 victory over Pohang Steelers at the weekend that moved them to fourth place in the K League 1 standings.

Anderson Talisca scored twice as Guangzhou claimed a 4-0 victory in the reverse fixture in China two weeks ago to leave the Chinese side joint top of the standings and Melbourne propping up the table at the midway point.

The Australian team go into the game on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Adelaide United in the A-League on Friday that leaves them five points adrift of second-placed Sydney FC.