(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Al Rayyan are hoping a victory against Uzbekistan's Lokomotiv in Doha today would put their Asian Champions League campaign back on track following a crushing 5-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad last week.
The Group B will be played at the Al Sadd Stadium at 6.35pm.
Al Rayyan are fourth in Group B, which is led by Al Ittihad with three points. Lokomotiv and the UAE's Al Wahda are second and third with three and 0 points respectively.
Al Rayyan players have been training under the watchful eyes of the club's Under-23 coach Gilson Souza, who has taken charge after they parted ways with Turk Bulent Uygun following their 1-5 loss to Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad in their AFC Champions League opener in Jeddah.
The club's technical staff worked on the areas for improvement as The Lions seek a turnaround in their fortunes against Lokomotiv.
A solid 2-0 win over the UAE's Al Wahda had given Lokomotiv the perfect foundation to build on. Al Rayyan rely mainly on players such as Rodrigo Tabata, Sebastian Soria, Khalfan Ibrahim, Gelmin Rivas, Gonzalo Viera, Lucca Borges, Mohamed Juma, Mowafak Awad and Koh Myong-Jin.
Al Rayyan are sure to have a tough time against Lokomotiv, who will be keen on sustaining the momentum and registering their second victory.
The Lions will have to learn from their mistakes against Al Ittihad against whom they missed many opportunities in the first half. They should also put up better defending and co-ordination between their midfield and attack.
Al Rayyan, who have never faced Lokomotiv in the AFC Champions League, last faced Uzbek opposition in the 2012 edition when they defeated Nasaf home and away before exiting at the group stage.
Lokomotiv, meanwhile, got off to the perfect start last week when goals from Temurkhuja Abdukholikov and Islom Tukhtakhujaev secured a 2-0 victory over Al Wahda in Tashkent. The Uzbek champions, whose domestic league has yet to begin, have exited at the group stage in the past two years but a second successive win would put them in a strong position after two games.
Meanwhile, history will be made at Karbala International Stadium as Al Zawraa stage the first ever AFC Champions League match to be held in Iraq when they host the United
Arab Emirates' Al Wasl in Group A.
The Iraqi side gained a credible scoreless draw away at the Islamic Republic of Iran's Zobahan on Matchday One in what was their first appearance in the competition since 2007.
Al Zawraa have twice faced Emirati opposition in the AFC Champions League, when they lost one and drew one against Al Wahda in the 2007 group stage.
After a miserable 2018 campaign in which they lost all six of their group stage games, Al Wasl enjoyed a perfect start to the tournament last week when Fabio Lima's penalty was enough to see off Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr 1-0. The win was only their third ever in the competition, with their last one coming against another Iraqi side, Air Force Club, back in the 2008 edition.
Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr will look to bounce back from their opening-day defeat to Al Wasl when they face the Iran's Zobahan in Group A of the 2019 AFC Champions League at Al Maktoum Stadium today.
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