Thai football continues to shine bright on the Asian stage, with Buriram United the latest team to highlight the growing status of Thai football by making it to the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League, the second year running a club from Thailand has done so after Muangthong United achieved the same feat last year.

They face a tough challenge in the Round of 16, however, coming up against two-time winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of Korea Republic, who have been one of the most impressive sides in the 2018 AFC Champions League so far.

No fewer than eight former continental champions remain in the mix, while three of the matches see domestic rivals go head to head. Ahead of the eight games, the-AFC.com picks out five things to look out for.

Both China and Korea Republic have three representatives still chasing continental glory while Japan and Thailand have one.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Guangzhou Evergrande and Ulsan Hyundai – who have won four of the past six titles between them – are among the teams in the last 16, as are two-time Asian Club Championship winners Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has three sides remaining in the competition, while the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have two and Saudi Arabia one. Inaugural AFC Champions League winners Al Ain, 2010 winners Zobahan and the last team from the West to lift the trophy, Al Sadd, are among the line-up.

The Emirati side ended a 15-game winless run in the continental competition in February and went on to finish runners-up in Group A with strikers Ali Mabkhout and Romarinho netting eight of their nine goals between them.

Al Jazira’s domestic form has been poor of late as they ended their UAE Pro League season with a 4-1 defeat to Al Wahda. Since beating Al Gharafa in the group stage in early April, the Abu Dhabi side have lost four of the past five matches.

Al Sadd have been in superb form at home, where they won all three of their Group C matches to advance to the last 16 as runners-up. Striker Baghdad Bounedjah has been one of the form players on the continent and leads the scoring charts with seven goals.

The Doha club progressed to the semi-finals of Qatar's Emir Cup with a 4-0 victory over Al Khor on Thursday to ensure they go into the clash with Al Ahli on form, although they are without the suspended defender Pedro Correia after his booking in the final group match ruled him out of the first leg.

Iranian giants Esteghlal reached the knockout stage in the 2017 edition of the continental competition and, despite winning the first leg against Al Ain 1-0, would crash out of the AFC Champions League in dramatic fashion after a comprehensive 6-1 defeat in the United Arab Emirates.