The 16 teams in the West will take to the field on Monday and Tuesday, with former continental champions Al Ain, Al Hilal, Al Sadd and Esteghlal among the contenders ahead of what promises to be another scintillating campaign.

Photos: Getty Images, The AFC

Tagliabue's introduction to Asian football came through Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq, who recruited him as a 25-year-old in the summer of 2010 from Colombian side Once Caldas. Tagliabue wasted no time in adapting to Saudi football, firing Al Ettifaq to a third-place finish, their best since 1992, in a season where he bagged 12 strikes in 23 appearances.

The Argentine's goals took Al Ettifaq to just their second AFC Champions League in the 2012 edition, but the Dammam-based side were knocked out in the play-off stage at the hands of Iranian giants Esteghlal.

Al Ettifaq dropped to the 2012 AFC Cup, where their Argentinian poacher was on deadly form, leading them to top their group as the highest scoring side in the competition’s group stage; Tagliabue netted eight out of his side’s 18 group stage goals.

The Saudi team went on to overcome Oman’s Al Suwaiq then Indonesia's Arema FC en route to the semi-final, but by then Tagliabue had agreed a move to 2010 AFC Champions League semi-finalists Al Shabab in the capital Riyadh.

Thiam, whose playing career includes a three-season stint with Italian Serie A giants Juventus, will be counted on to deliver in the 2018 AFC Champions League.

Esteghlal have been drawn in Group D alongside Al Rayyan of Qatar, Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal and Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates.

Thiam, 25, has also played for Serie A sides Inter Milan and Empoli.  He will don the No 25 shirt at the Tehran-based club.

Esteghlal also completed the signing of Macedonian central midfielder Bojan Najdenov on Monday.

Esteghlal open their AFC Champions League campaign against Qatar's Al Rayyan in Doha on February 13.

With less than a week to go until the big kick-off, the-AFC.com looks at some of the movers who already boast invaluable experience in Asia’s biggest club competition and know exactly how to find the back of the net.

Kawasaki had not reached the AFC Champions League quarter-finals since 2009, but were unbeaten on their march to the last eight in 2017 before ultimately being ousted by domestic rivals and eventual champions Urawa Red Diamonds.

This year, drawn in Group F alongside Ulsan Hyundai, Melbourne Victory and a star-studded Shanghai SIPG, who they meet on Matchday One on Tuesday, Kobayashi believes the side – crowned J.League champions for the first time at the end of 2017 – are well prepared for another shot at the continent’s biggest prize.

The dynamic drive of Suchao and the creative skills of Jakkaphan have been complementing each other since 2011, during which time they have seen five continental campaigns including a run to the 2013 quarter-finals.

This year, the Buriram legends kick off their Group G campaign at China’s Guangzhou Evergrande on February 14, while Japan’s Cerezo Osaka and Korea Republic’s Jeju United complete the four-team group.