Elsewhere, Turkmenistan’s FC Shagadam suffered a major setback in their bid for a first title since 2002, while FC Istiklol continued their march towards a sixth successive domestic crown in Tajikistan.

The first round of fixtures brought about plenty of talking points, and the-AFC.com has selected five things to look out for in this week’s matches.

Goals from Luis Jimenez and Ziyad Al Sahafi either side of the half-time break overturned Ghasem Hadadifar’s early goal for Zobahan, earning Al Ittihad an important win last week.

Now, Jose Luis Sierra’s men will aim to complete the job and set up an all-Saudi quarter-final clash with the winners between rivals Al Hilal and Al Ahli.

A goalless draw will be enough for Al Wahda but keeping a clean sheet against a side that netted 11 goals in the group stage and boast Moroccan goal machine Abderrazak Hamdallah will not be an easy task for goalkeeper Mohammed Al Shamsi and his backline.

The capital city side went into the all-Vietnamese clash at Hang Day Stadium with a 1-0 advantage following last week’s first leg and, after a tight first half which Hanoi shaded, the hosts broke the deadlock just after the hour when top scorer Pape Omar Faye notched his eighth goal of the campaign.

With Binh Duong needing to score twice, Hanoi could breath a little easier and they could have added to their tally, with Nguyen Quang Hai, Ngan Van Dai and Pape Kebe all missing chances as the home side comfortably saw out the closing stages.

Binh Duong went into the second leg of the ASEAN Zonal Final needing to win in the Vietnamese capital and threatened the Hanoi goal of several occasions in the first 60 minutes but were unable to find that elusive goal.

Then, shortly after the hour, Pape Omar Faye gave the visitors a mountain to climb as the Senegalese pounced to open the scoring from a few yards out and, ultimately, seal Hanoi’s place in the Inter-Zone semi-finals.

Leading 1-0 from last week’s first leg, Pape Omar Faye’s second-half strike – his eighth goal of the competition – ultimately sealed a 2-0 aggregate success for Hanoi, one which earns them a spot in the Inter-Zone Semi-finals where they will now face Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr FC.