(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar Al Rayyan and Al Sailiya will be eyeing a place in the AFC Champions League (ACL) main draw when they take on Iranian clubs Esteghlal and Shahr Khodro respectively in the play-off matches in Doha,
The Al Rayyan And Esteghlal clash will kick-off at 18:15 at the Al Sadd Stadium tomorrow while on the same day Al Sailiya will lock horns with Shahr Khodro at 18:10 at the Al Duhail Stadium.
Qatar's Al Sadd and Al Duhail, the top two teams in the 2018-19 QNB Stars League, had qualified directly for the group stage of Asia's premier club competition.
Al Sailiya and Al Rayyan, the third and fourth-placed teams, went into play-off to be eligible to make it to the tournament proper.
Esteghlal qualified to play Al Rayyan after they defeated Kuwait SC 3-0 in Dubai in the preliminary round on January 25. The winners of the Al Rayyan vs Esteghlal match will join Group A, which includes the UAE's Al Wahda, Iraq's Al Shorta and the winners of another play-off between Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli and Tajikistan's FC Istiklol, to be played on January 28. Al Rayyan have had a bad run of late as they lost 1-4 to Al Sadd in the 2020 Qatar Cup semifinal and 2-4 to Al Gharafa in Week 13 of QSL.
Uruguayan Diego Aguirre-coached Al Rayyan have in their ranks players, who can make a difference, such as Algerian Yacine Brahimi, new Ivorian professional Yohan Boli, South Korean Lee Jae-Ik, Cameroonian Franck Kom, Rodrigo Tabata, Abdulaziz Hatem, Khaled Muftah and Ahmed Abdelmaksoud. Meanwhile, Al Sailiya making their appearance in the club continental championship are aiming to script history.
Shahr Khodro qualified to play Al Sailiya after they defeated Bahrain's Riffa 2-1 at the Sharajah Stadium in the preliminary round on January 25.
It is for the first time that Al Sailiya are matching their wits in the AFC Champions League after having their best-ever finish in the Qatar League under Tunisian coach Sami Trabelsi last season. And the team camp is staying confident even though they lost 0-1 to Al Ahli in Week 13 of the QNB Stars League in the weekend, following their 0-2 loss to Al Duhail in the 2020 Qatar Cup semi-final.
The winners of the Al Sailiya vs Shahr Khodro game will join Group B, which includes Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor.
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