Buriram drew their tournament opener 1-1 away at Guangzhou Evergrande but suffered a setback two weeks ago when Jeju United left Thailand with a 2-0 win to leave Narubadin’s team rooted to the bottom of the standings.

Just three points separate top from bottom, though, and with group leaders Cerezo next to visit Buriram Stadium, a win for the hosts would move them level on points with the Japanese side.

With the action beginning in the West Zone on Monday and coming to a close in the East Zone on Wednesday, the-AFC.com highlights five things to look out for in the days ahead.

The hosts will be looking for a positive response following a 2-0 reversal to Jeju United on Matchday Two. The Thai champions drew their opening game of the tournament 0-0 with Guangzhou Evergrande but now prop up the standings and are without the suspended Brazilian striker Diogo for the clash with Cerezo.

The Japanese visitors have four points from two games after defeating Jeju in their first fixture before a scoreless draw with Guangzhou two weeks ago. The sides also met in the 2014 group stage, with Cerezo winning 4-0 at home then scoring late to secure a 2-2 draw in northeastern Thailand.

Buriram warmed up for the match with a 3-0 win over Prachuap on Friday to remain top of the Thai League 1, while Cerezo played out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Consadole Sapporo in what was their third successive draw in all competitions.

Qatar’s Al Gharafa made global headlines when they captured 2010 FIFA World Cup finalist Wesley Sneijder in January 2018, but arguably as important for their AFC Champions League hopes was the signing of former Persepolis striker Mehdi Taremi.

While the arrival of Sneijder added star power to the team, in Taremi they recruited an international striker at his prime and with pedigree on the highest levels of Asian football, both for club and country, something the Doha based side were in dire need of ahead of their return to the top club competition in the continent.