Between them, the sides have won three of the past six editions of the competition with two-time winners Guangzhou lifting the trophy in 2013 and 2015 and the J.League club Kashima being crowned champions in November last year.

The match also marks a repeat of the 2017 Round of 16 match-up which the Chinese side edged on away goals following a narrow 1-0 win at home and a 2-1 loss in Japan.

Being among the Kashima number crowned Asia's kings last year was a highlight in the career of 23-year-old Tokyo-native Misao, but the 2018 AFC Player of the Year nominee is adamant that neither he nor his teammates are content to sit on their laurels.

Their campaign to become the first back-to-back champions since Al Ittihad in 2005 – and, indeed, just the second in the AFC Champions League's history – is set to face a huge test in the last eight against 2013 and 2015 winners Guangzhou.

The competition resumes in East Asia after a two-and-a-half month hiatus next week, with Guangzhou facing off against defending champions Kashima Antlers in a mouth-watering quarter-final clash that the China PR international is relishing.

Tianhe Stadium will be the venue for the duo’s first meeting on Asian soil on August 28 in the first leg of their last eight clash in the Continental club championship, and comes a little more than seven years since their first – and so far only – meeting on the pitch.

That was at Sao Paulo’s Estadio do Pacaembu, when Paulinho’s Corinthians shared a 1-1 draw with a Portuguesa side featuring Leo Silva and the Kashima star is relishing the prospect of renewing his rivalry with the former Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.

Making their first-ever quarter-final appearance, Al Nassr were hopeful of securing their first win over Qatari opponents in the competition, but had their work cut out for them by a late injury to star striker Abdelrazzaq Hamdallah.

In turn, Al Sadd needed a positive result from Riyadh to set them up for an easier task at home as they chase a second consecutive semi-final.

The sides met four times in the 2017 edition, exchanging wins in the Group Stage before their meeting in the last four saw Urawa edge the semi-final 2-1 on aggregate as they went on to lift their second AFC Champions League title.

Last year, Shanghai SIPG were eliminated by a Japanese team for a second consecutive tournament when they were defeated by eventual champions Kashima Antlers, while Urawa failed to defend their title after they were unable to qualify for the 2018 competition.

The two sides boast a proud tradition in Asian football, with nine continental titles and 18 appearances in the AFC Champions League knock-out stage between them. Nevertheless, Tuesday marks only the second time Al Ittihad and Al Hilal have met in the competition - the first being Al Ittihad's 3-1 win in the 2011 Round of 16.