Without a continental title since 1998, the Riyadh based club came agonisingly close in the previous edition of the competition, crashing out at the semi-final stage against Tractor’s domestic rivals Persepolis FC. Tractor, on the other hand, have never made it past the Round of 16, and a one-legged tie will appeal to them as they look to make club history.

With a few weeks and a transfer window sitting between the group stage and the round of 16, a number of players have come in to supplement the already star-studded sides vying for a place in the quarter-final stage.

On the back of an incredible 15-game winning run, defending champions Ulsan Hyundai are among the contenders, as are the 2020 runners-up Persepolis FC and former winners Al Hilal SFC, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Pohang Steelers, while newcomers FC Istiklol and BG Pathum United enter the knockout rounds in their debut campaigns.

As the big kick-off fast approaches, the-AFC.com has selected five things to look out for in the days ahead.

Runners-up in two of the last three editions of the competition, the Iran Pro League champions have travelled to the Tajik capital to face an Istiklol side who emerged as the fairy-tale story of this year’s ACL group stage, pulling off a series of shock wins in their tournament debut in April.

With those heroics in mind, and an excited Dushanbe public ready to welcome ACL knockout stage football for the first time, Golmohammadi said he expects Persepolis to be seriously challenged at Central Republican Stadium.

The clash in Korea Republic will see the current leaders of the domestic championships in both East Asian nations face off in what should be a mouth-watering tie given both sides are currently on 100 percent records following the group stage phase of the 2021 AFC Champions League.

Two-time winners Ulsan will be looking to return to the quarter-finals for the fourth time, the same goal for Kawasaki who previously featured in the last eight in the 2007, 2009 and 2017 editions.

The game sees the two sides face off for the first time in their history with Japan’s Nagoya participating in the AFC Champions League for the fourth time and Korea Republic’s Daegu making just their second appearance.

After a nine-year hiatus on the continent, J1 League side Nagoya are looking to go beyond the last 16 for just the second time, while K League 1 club Daegu are hoping to emulate a number of illustrious Korean teams by going deep into the tournament.

The game will be the third time two Emirati sides have faced in the AFC Champions League, and the first involving either of the two sides. The two previous such occasions saw Al Ain involved, as they faced Al Jazira in the 2014 Round of 16 and Al Ahli at the same stage a year later.