Al Ain and Al Nassr Take Center Stage in the First Round

Al Ain and Al Nassr Showdown

Al Ain, the champion of the 2003 and 2024 editions and runner-up in 2005 and 2016, returns to its favorite tournament which it missed last year with the ambition of reaching the advanced stages once again.

Al Ain's last participation in 2025 was disastrous after finishing last in the unified group with two points from six losses and two draws in the worst participation in its history.

Those negative results led to the appointment of Serbian coach Vladimir Ivić, who led Al Ain to the domestic league title and has gone 5 matches without a loss in the current season, extending its record streak of avoiding defeats to 38 consecutive matches.

Ivić emphasized at the beginning of the season that «Al Ain enters all tournaments with the goal of winning, while respecting opponents and not fearing them, especially in the AFC Champions League where small details make the difference in its matches».

He continued «We will give our utmost as we always do and will work hard to make our fans happy».

Al Ain's ambitions to avoid going nine consecutive continental matches without a win will collide with the obstacle of Al Nassr, whom the Emirati team previously defeated 1-0 at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on its way to the 2024 title, before the Saudi champions returned the favor a year later in harsh fashion by beating them 5-1 in Riyadh.

The Serbian coach denied that Al Ain was affected by thinking about the Al Nassr match after drawing with Al Wasl 2-2 on Thursday in the league, which was their first stumble after four consecutive victories.

Ivić said: «Believe me, we never thought about the Asian tournament, because we are accustomed to focusing first on the match we are currently playing».

On the other hand, despite Al Nassr's brilliant start in the domestic league, its results have declined in the last three matches, during which it achieved only four points, dropping to third place.

A Real Test for Al Ahli

Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal seeks a comfortable win when it hosts Qatar's Al Gharafa tomorrow, Tuesday, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

Al Hilal is marching with confident steps, topping the domestic league by one point ahead of its closest rival Al Ittihad, and enters the match against Al Gharafa as the strong favorite to claim the three points following its massive victory over its host Al Taawoun 6-0 on Saturday.

In contrast, Al Gharafa has not delivered the expected level in the Qatari league, occupying ninth place with four points out of a possible 12 points.

Al Gharafa will miss its Algerian midfielder Yacine Brahimi due to injury.

Al Ahli begins its title defense campaign with a real test against visiting Pakhtakor at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah.

Al-Ahli kicks off its campaign amid sweeping changes in its ranks, starting with the technical management, as it is coached by Dutch manager Marino Pusic, succeeding German Matthias Jaissle, who preferred to take on a new experience with English club Newcastle United, in addition to the departure of a number of its most prominent stars led by Algerian Riyad Mahrez and Ivorian Franck Kessié, who were key elements in its crowning with the title of the last two editions of the competition.

Al-Ahli has achieved fluctuating results in the domestic league, suffering three defeats against four victories so far, and it will need a lot of focus against Pakhtakor to avoid any new defeat this season.

In contrast, Pakhtakor will not be an easy prey for Al-Ahli as it is one of the experienced teams in the competition, currently occupying second place in its country, and it relies on its Iraqi trio Ayman Hussein, Bashar Resan and Zaid Tahseen, alongside Brazilian Flamarion and Nigerian Steven Chinedu.

UAE's Shabab Al-Ahli aspires to heal its domestic wounds with a continental victory after losing its way to victories in its last two domestic league matches with a loss and a draw, when it hosts Iran's Tractor in their third match within a year.

The two teams met twice in the previous edition of the Asian Championship, drawing 1-1 in Dubai in the unified group stage, before Shabab Al-Ahli won 3-0 in the Round of 16 in Jeddah.

The Dubai-based team achieved its second best result last season after finishing second in 2015 by qualifying for the semi-finals, before narrowly losing to Japan's Machida Zelvia 0-1.

UAE's Al-Wasl is a guest of Saudi Arabia's Al-Qadsiah after drawing with Al-Ain 2-2 in the league summit, through which it demonstrated its good preparations this season thanks to its offensive strength, having scored 15 goals in 5 matches.

Al-Wasl also relies in its continental path on the brilliance of its Croatian goalkeeper Dinko Horkas, hoping to repeat the success of the 2025 edition when it finished fifth in the unified group before bowing out against Qatar's Al-Sadd in the Round of 16.

Al-Qadsiah returns to continental participation after a long absence, as its last appearance was in 1994 in the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, which it won.

Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad is a heavy guest of Qatar's Al-Shamal today, Monday, at Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

Al-Ittihad is having a perfect run in the domestic league and has not suffered any defeat this season (4 victories and 2 draws), as it currently occupies second place, and seeks a distinctive start in the elite tournament and to return with the three points.

For its part, Al-Shamal, participating for the first time, aspires to make a good appearance especially since it is presenting good levels in the league and occupies third place without defeat.

Also playing today, Monday, are Uzbekistan's Neftchi against Iraq's Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, and Iran's Esteghlal against Qatar's Al-Sadd.