Mohammad Reza Khalatbari’s opener for the Iranians was cancelled out by a Saleh Taher equaliser for Riffa in the first half. Shahr Khodro had to wait until late into the second period for Amin Ghaseminejad to strike the winner.

The victory books a date with Qatar’s Al Sailiya, with an AFC Champions League group stage debut on the cards for Shahr Khodro should they manage a win on Tuesday.

Towering Malian forward Cheick Diabaté scored a brace before Vorya Ghafouri added a superb third goal just before the hour mark to help Farhad Maijidi’s side cruise to a comprehensive win over the Kuwaiti Premier League champions.

Estgehlal will now face Qatari outfit Al Rayyan for a place in the group stage alongside Iraq’s Al Shorta, Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates and another qualifier.

Regragui, who joins Al Duhail from Moroccan outfit FUS Rabat, replaces Rui Faria with the Portuguese having left three days ago due to personal reasons.

Murod Khalmukhamedov put the hosts ahead with an early penalty before Humoyun Murtozaev scored a second half brace, with Boburbek Farkhadov also finding the net in a dominant display from Vadim Abramov’s side.

Bunyodkor’s win sets up an away clash with Emirati outfit Al Ain next Tuesday, with the Tashkent club to return to the group stage for the first time since 2017 with another victory.

Stephan Schrock claimed the only goal of the game when the midfielder’s ball into the penalty area six minutes into the second half was punched over his own line by Port FC goalkeeper Worawut Srisupa and Ceres will now take on Japan’s FC Tokyo for a place in the group phase of this year’s competition.

Kedah flexed their muscles at the Darulaman Stadium with Tchetche Kipre grabbing a hat-trick and Hadin Azman scoring twice to seal a comprehensive win as the 2019 Malaysia FA Cup champions earned a Playoff round tie against Korea Republic's FC Seoul next Tuesday.

Golmohammadi, 49, takes charge of the Tehran giants from Shahr Khodro.

It will be Golmohammadi's second stint with Persepolis and he takes charge of a team who lead the Iranian Pro League by three points.