(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Two Qatar clubs in the semi-finals of the prestigious AFC Champions League! It's a dream scenario for Qatar which could come true today when Al Duhail and Al Sadd take on Iranian oppositions in their quarter-finals second leg matches.
While 2011 winners Al Sadd meet Esteghlal on their home turf in Doha today, Al Duhail lock horns with Persepolis in Tehran, both the Qatar giants sitting pretty with first leg wins under their belts.
Al Sadd, who won the first leg 3-1, are clear favourites to seal their last four spot as they have home advantage, while Al Duhail need to ensure they don't fritter their 1-0 advantage away at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.
Almoez Ali scored the only goal of the first leg in Doha to maintain Al Duhail's 100 percent record as they matched Ulsan Hyundai's nine successive wins from the 2012 competition. One more victory would set a new record for a single campaign, although Ulsan did record 11 wins in a row between 2012 and 2014.
Persepolis, though, have won all four of their games in front of home support and recovered from a first-leg deficit against Al Jazira in the Round of 16. They have conceded just once at Azadi Stadium and are chasing a second consecutive semi-final.
Al Duhail's new coach Nabil Maaloul, who took over from Djamel Belmadi, is keen to take the club's campaign to the next level and was looking to play an attacking game.
'We have forgotten our 1-0 victory over Persepolis in the first leg, the Tunisian told reporters in Tehran. 'We will start afresh in the second leg. It will be a tough match for us, but it's also a tough match for Persepolis, he added.
Maaloul added that the 100,000 strong partisan crowd expected at the stadium will not intimidate Duhail.
'Surely the fans will be supporting Persepolis but we have talked it over and the players are confident about dealing with it, said Maaloul.
The return of central defender Karim Boudiaf from injury will definitely boost Al Duhail's chances against Persepolis who have a formidable record in front of their home fans.
'Karim's return is good news for us. He is a key member of the squad whose contributions to the team's cause has been fantastic.
Al Duhail, who have won all their nine matches in this season's Champions League so far to equal Ulsan Hyundai's Asian record, are looking to go one better.
'That would be fantastic. We don't look for records as such because our job is to win every match we play, but if we achieve the record along the way it would be the icing on the cake.
Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic said there would be pressure on his side as they had lost the first leg.
'There are two Iranian teams in the quarter-finals and fans would be expecting both to make the semi-finals. That would mean there will be pressure on us. As such we can't afford to be lax, said the Croatian.
'But we are proud of the fact that we have come this far in the tournament, and we hope the presence of thousands of fans will be an advantage for us.
He added that Persepolis will be looking to take the lead early and put Duhail on the back foot.
'When you are trailing that's the best strategy. Everybody knows it because we don't want to fall behind and then play catch-up. That would be disastrous considering our situation.
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