Al Wasl will, however, face a wounded Al Shorta who will be aiming to bounce back strongly from their 5-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli Saudi FC.

The Iraqi side were outplayed by Al Ahli Saudi but will be hopeful of a better performance against Al Wasl in what will be a first meeting between the sides.

Al Wasl's only defeat so far was also inflicted by Al Ahli Saudi and the UAE champions had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Al Sadd SC after having taken the lead against the Qatari team on Matchday Four.

Al Wasl, undefeated in their last two games on the continental stage but having lost their last two meetings with teams from Iraq, will be counting on Fabio Lima to lead their charge, with the striker having netted four goals in the UAE's 5-0 defeat of Qatar in their recent AFC Asian Qualifiers™ - Road to 26 Group A tie.

Venue: Karbala International Stadium (Karbala)

Kick-off: Tuesday, 19:00 (UTC+3)