Al Rayyan have made eight appearances in the competition but have yet to make it beyond the group stage and suffered a familiar fate in 2018 despite being unbeaten and in a strong position after their first four games.

Domestically they sit third in the Qatar Stars League after a 3-1 victory over Al Arabi on Thursday, but they remain some distance behind the front two of Al Sadd and Al Duhail.

After finishing fourth in the Qatar Stars League last year, Al Gharafa currently languish in the bottom half of the table after defeat to Umm Salal last week, and they will be without injured Dutchman Wesley Sneijder for the clash.

The Doha team have qualified for the competition eight times, with a quarter-final appearance in 2010 their best performance, while they also reached the last 16 in 2013. Last year they were unlucky to be eliminated at the group stage by virtue of an inferior head-to-head record against the United Arab Emirates' Al Jazira.

Ulsan were crowned champions in 2012 after winning nine games in a row that culminated in a 3-0 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli in the final, while they also reached the semi-finals back in 2006.

Last year they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by domestic rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings, before finishing third in K League 1. They are looking to progress to the competition for the third successive year.

Shandong have made the group stage of the tournament eight times, with their last appearance coming in 2016 when they reached the quarter-finals before elimination to FC Seoul.

A third-place finish in the 2018 Chinese Super League ensured the Jinan side moved within 90 minutes of returning to the competition, while they warmed up for the match by winning the Lunar New Year Cup pre-season tournament in Hong Kong two weeks ago.

The three-time J.League champions finished second in the league last year, having only narrowly avoided relegation a year earlier. But while they have long since been a force in their homeland, they have failed to emulate that on the continent.

Sanfrecce’s best performance in the AFC Champions League came in 2014 when they advanced to the Round of 16 before defeat to eventual champions Western Sydney Wanderers of Australia, while in 2010, 2013 and 2016 they fell at the group stage.

The J.League side were crowned Continental champions for the first time last year but their third-place finish in the league was only enough to grant entry into the 2019 competition’s qualifying rounds.

Kashima, who also reached the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup in December, appeared in the inaugural AFC Champions League and have qualified for the knockout round six times.

Al Nasr finished third in the 2017-18 UAE Pro League but are sitting below mid-table in the current campaign and lost 1-0 to Al Sharjah on Thursday as their poor run of domestic form continued.

The Dubai side – who have only once reached the knockout rounds (in 2016) – faced Uzbek opposition in the form of Lokomotiv three years ago, with the teams playing out a pair of draws in the group stage. They have never before met Pakhtakor in the competition.