AFC Champions League
Four previous winners, a runners-up from two of the three most recent editions and and a trio of teams looking to play in the final for the first time remain in the running to emerge the 2021 champions.
Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at some interesting facts and stats ahead of the 2021 AFC Champions League quarter-finals.
Al Wahda FSCC (UAE) v Al Nassr (KSA)
- This will be the third game between Al Wahda and Al Nassr in the AFC Champions League after their meeting in the Round of 16 of the 2019 edition. Al Nassr were undefeated across the two matches (W1 D1), winning the tie 4-3 on aggregate.
- Al Wahda’s Omar Khribin has scored eight goals in only nine appearances in the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League. Khribin was involved in scoring five goals in only three matches against Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League when he was playing for their local rivals Al Hilal SFC before joining Al Wahda in January of this year (3 goals, 2 assists).
- Al Nassr striker Abderrazak Hamdallah has been directly involved in scoring 15 of Al-Nassr’s last 25 goals in the AFC Champions League (12 goals, 3 assists). Indeed, since the beginning of the 2019 campaign, no player has been involved in scoring more goals in the competition than Hamdallah (19 – 15 goals, 4 assists).
Persepolis FC (IRN) v Al Hilal SFC (KSA)
- This will be the ninth AFC Champions League match between Persepolis and Al Hilal. Persepolis have only managed one win in the first eight encounters against Al Hilal in the competition (W1 D4 L3). They have never progressed against Al Hilal in a knockout tie, exiting the competition against them in 2015 (last 16) and 2017 (semi-final).
- Persepolis have not scored in four of their previous eight games against Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League, only managing to score more than once against them in one of those matches (their last meeting in the 2017 semi-finals, 2-2). However, they have won six of their seven games in the 2021 campaign so far (L1) and could equal their highest number of wins in a single edition of the competition should they triumph against Al Hilal (won 7 games in 2018).
- Al Hilal have won five of their last six games in the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League (L1), keeping a clean sheet in their last three in a row. They are undefeated in their last six knockout games against sides from the Islamic Republic of Iran in the competition (W5 D1), scoring an average of 2.5 goals/game. This after Al Hilal had lost and failed to score a single goal in their first three knockout games against Iranian opposition.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (KOR) v Ulsan Hyundai FC (KOR)
- This will be the third AFC Champions League game between Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Ulsan Hyundai and the first since their semi-final clash in 2006 where each team managed a win but Jeonbuk qualified after winning 6-4 on aggregate, eventually going on to win the competition that year.
- Ulsan Hyundai’s record 15 game winning streak came to an end with their 0-0 draw against Kawasaki Frontale (going on to win via a penalty shootout). They failed to win a game in the competition for the first time since Feb 2020 (1-1 v FC Tokyo). Ulsan remain undefeated in their last 17 games in the AFC Champions League – a club record (W15 D2). They have never conceded more than a single goal in any of those matches (keeping nine clean sheets, including in six of their last seven games).
- Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ Gustavo has been directly involved in scoring more goals than any other player in the 2021 AFC Champions League (11 – 8 goals, 3 assists). Overall, he has been involved in scoring 14 goals in only 10 appearances with Jeonbuk since his debut in the competition in November 2020 (10 goals, 4 assists) – at least five more than any other player in the same timeframe.
Pohang Steelers (KOR) v Nagoya Grampus (JPN)
- Pohang Steelers failed to win either of their two games against Nagoya Grampus in their group stage meetings in the 2021 AFC Champions League. This will be the third meeting between the two sides in the competition.
- Pohang Steelers have only lost two of their previous 16 games against Japanese sides in the AFC Champions League (W9 D5 L2). They have managed to keep a clean sheet in 50% of their encounters against Japanese teams in the competition (8/16). Pohang Steelers have always progressed to the next stage each time they have met Japanese opposition in the knockout stages of the competition (against Kashima Antlers in 2010 and Cerezo Osaka in 2021, both in Last 16 round).
- Nagoya Grampus have only lost one of their previous 11 games against Korean teams in the AFC Champions League (W6 D4 L1). They have faced Korea Republic sides three times previously in the knockout stages of the competition, winning against Suwon Samsung Bluewings in 2009 (2-1) before losing against the same opponent in 2011 (2-0). Nagoya did win against Daegu in this season though in the knockout stages (4-2). All these games were in the last 16 of the competition.
*Poll ends at 22:00 (UTC+8) on October 16
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