(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Defending champion and three-time winners Al Suwaiq faces a tricky opponent in former champion Seeb in a two-leg quarterfinal match of the 2017-18 His Majesty's Cup Football Championship.
And in another quarterfinal encounter former three-time winners Sur were drawn against the in-form Al Shabab Club.
The first-leg of the quarterfinals will be played on February 11 while the return-leg will be held on February 21.
The draw of the sultanate's prestigious championship was held at the Oman Football Association (OFA) headquarters on Sunday with the OFA chairman Sheikh Salim al Wahaibi picking up the draw of lots in the presence of OFA board member Humeid al Jabri and representatives of the clubs.
Sheikh Salim al Wahaibi picks Al Suwaiq's chit on Sunday
The other last-eight matches pits five-time winners Ahli-Sidab against Sohar and four-time champions Al Nasr facing a relatively easier rival in Al Bashayer.Seeb, like Suwaiq, is also a three-time winner, achieving a hat-trick of titles from 1996-98. It will hope to regain the lost glory against Suwaiq, which won its maiden title only in 2009. It then regained it in 2013 before winning it last year.
Suwaiq is leading the Omantel League with 34 points at the halfway stage. The second half of the Omantel League season resumes on February 7.
The Batinah club in eyeing a domestic double and is also participating in the AFC Cup, the second-tier Asian clubs competition after it recently qualified into the main draw following its win over Palestine's Hilal al Quds in the playoffs.
Speaking after the draw, Khalifa al Breiki, Suwaiq Club's treasurer, said, 'It's a tough draw as all the teams at this stage are equally capable of advancing to the next round.'
This year's edition has already witnessed the exit of giants like Fanja (9), Dhofar (8) and Al Arouba (4), three clubs that share 21 titles between them.
Besides the defending champion Suwaiq, other winners left in the fray are Ahli-Sidab, Seeb, Sur and Al Nasr while Al Shabab, Al Bashayer and Sohar are yet to win any title.
Al Shabab's chief Hamza al Balushi said, 'Sur is a strong side and we need to be at our best to get past it. Last year, we had made our exit in the last-16 stage and now we have reached the quarterfinals. Hopefully, we can continue our march into the semifinals.'
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