Edgar and Cesinha were in scintillating form in the group stage, scoring nine times between them to help Daegu reach the knockout rounds for the first time, with Edgar leading the way on five goals.

The pair have been teammates in Daegu for four seasons, with Edgar's arrival in 2018 coming a year after his countryman joined, and they have since been instrumental in the club's rise to prominence.

Goals from Bafetimbi Gomis and Salem Al Dawsari, both heroes of Al Hilal’s 2019 AFC Champions League-winning side, proved decisive for the Saudi club, who have now reached the quarter-finals in five of the last eight editions of the competition.

While Leonardo Jardim’s side can look forward with optimism to the latter stages of the competition, Esteghlal’s defeat sealed their elimination from the tournament, ending their bid for a first Asian club title since 1991.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.