The pair met twice in last year’s group stage with Al Ain winning 2-1 in the UAE and the teams playing out a scoreless draw in Riyadh as the Emirati side eventually advanced and Al Hilal exited. 

Al Ain, who were eliminated by Al Hilal in the 2017 quarter-finals, lost 2-0 to Shabab Al Ahli in their latest UAE Pro League outing and are currently second in the standings.

A host of big names will make their AFC Champions League bows, while no fewer than eight former winners will be on show. Ahead of the first round of fixtures, the-AFC.com picks out five things to look out for.

Al Duhail were one of the stories of the 2018 season as the Doha side went on a nine-game winning run to equal Ulsan Hyundai’s record set in 2012. They exited at the last eight stage, however, after Iranian side Persepolis dealt them a first defeat in the second leg of the quarter-finals.

The 2017-18 Qatar Stars League champions currently sit second in their domestic league and go into their Continental opener on the back of a 6-0 victory over Al Ahli last week.

The Japanese side were crowned continental champions for the first time when they defeated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis 2-0 on aggregate last November, but only advanced to the 2019 edition after seeing off Australia’s Newcastle Jets in the play-off round.

Kashima have picked up just one point from their first two games in this season’s J.League, but go into the match with Johor on the back of a 1-1 draw against defending champions Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday.

After winning promotion from the second tier in 2017, Gyeongnam enjoyed a superb campaign last year in which they finished second in K League 1 to advance to the continental competition for the first time.

The tournament newcomers also got off to a winning start in their current domestic season after recording a 2-1 victory against former continental champions Seongnam FC on Friday.

The Australian side were eliminated at the group stage last year but remained unbeaten in Melbourne. Indeed, despite having only reached the last 16 once (in 2016), they have not lost in front of home support since the 2011 group stage.

Currently third in the A-League, Melbourne are on a four-game winless run domestically and go into the match on the back of a 2-0 loss to Newcastle Jets at the weekend.

Two-time winners Guangzhou missed out on an eight successive Chinese Super League title last year when they finished second to Shanghai SIPG. They also fell at the last 16 stage on the continent, although remained unbeaten in their eight games.

Fabio Cannavaro’s side, who have never faced Hiroshima in the competition, began their domestic campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Tianjin Quanjian on Friday.