The two sides had met in the 2018 AFC Cup group stage, and Al Ahed emerged victorious on both occasions but there was not to be a third consecutive victory as Manama Club produced a strong performance.

Having topped the group after defeating Al Ansar FC 1-0 on Matchday One, Kuwait SC came into the game hopeful of hitting six points to establish a comfortable early lead in the race for the knockout stage, but facing them were an Al Wathba side who had held Jordanian powerhouse Al Faisaly to a stalemate in their AFC Cup debut two weeks ago.

In action over the two days are 12 West Asian teams representing seven countries, with matches from Groups A and B taking place on Monday, while Group C fixtures will be played on Tuesday.

Tuesday brings four fixtures in Groups F and G, while the spotlight will be on Group H a day later, after which a clear picture will begin to emerge of the early frontrunners in this year's Continental competition.

A new-look Makassar side without the likes of Marc Klok and Eero Markkanen – both key in helping the team reach the 2019 ASEAN Zonal semi-finals – lost 2-1 against Singapore’s Tampines Rovers on Matchday One two weeks ago.

But with a number of the players making their maiden AFC Cup appearances for Makassar, Ferdinand remains optimistic about his side’s prospects in the 2020 campaign.

In the club’s first continental appearance since the 2011 AFC President’s Cup, Neftchi secured victory on the day thanks to Oleksandr Ihnatenko’s goal just after half time, putting the 2019 Kyrgyzstan Cup winners within 90 minutes of the group stage.

Both sides had to battle the elements at Jalal-Abad’s Kurmanbek Stadium, where the pitch had been buried under snow on the eve of the match, but Zakirov was delighted that his charges had been able achieve a positive result.

After a goalless first half, Ibrahim Mahudhee gave Maziya the lead only for Bengaluru to reply through Francisco Nili's penalty. Cornelius Ezekiel's late strike, however, gave the Maldives side the first leg advantage.

The sides meet again in the return leg next week with the winners earning a place in Group E alongside India’s Chennai City FC, TC Sports Club of Maldives and Bangladesh’s Bashundhara Kings