QNB Stars League sides Al Duhail and Al Sadd will have to up at their best as they lock horns with Iranian clubs in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals this week. Al Sadd take on Esteghlal tomorrow, while Duhail host Iran Pro League winner Persepolis on Tuesday.  
Sparks are sure to fly when QNB Stars League leaders Al Sadd visit Esteghlal, with the first leg to kick off at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran tomorrow. The return leg will be played at the Al Sadd Stadium on 17th September.
Al Sadd, who won Asia’s top club tournament in 2011 and also in 1988 before the competition was revamped, won four of their six matches while losing two en route to finishing second behind Iran’s Persepolis in Group C, that also consisted of Uzbekistan’s Nasaf and the UAE’s Al Wasl.
They beat Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli 4-3 on aggregate in the Round of 16 to book their quarter-finals berth for the first time since 2014. Spanish FIFA World Cup winner (2010) and two-time European Championship winner (2008 and 2012) Xavi Hernandez will seek to achieve what no other player has done before — complete an AFC Champions League-UEFA Champions League double. Xavi won an incredible four UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona before joining Al Sadd in 2015. It is against this backdrop that Xavi leads Al Sadd, who top the QNB Stars League table with seven points ahead of Al Duhail on goal difference, at the Azadi Stadium.
The Wolves, coached by Portuguese Jesualdo Ferreira, will also have the likes of fellow Spanish midfielder Gabi, who joined them from Atletico Madrid this season, Algerian spearhead Baghdad Bounedjah, who tops the QNB Stars League top-scorers’ chart with 10 goals, Qatar international striker Hassan al-Haydous, South Korean midfielder Jung Woo-Young, young forward Akram Afif and Boualem Khoukhi to deliver the goods.
Al Sadd may be without injured defender Ibrahim Majed. Esteghlal topped a strong Group D which also had Al Ain, Al Hilal and Al Rayyan. They put it across domestic rivals Zob Ahan in the Round of 16.
On Tuesday, QNB Stars League’s defending champions Al Duhail will be eager to continue their winning run in the AFC Champions League when they take on Persepolis. The first leg will played at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.  
Al Duhail, under Tunisian coach Nabil Maaloul who replaced Algerian Djamel Belmadi, are the only side in this year’s premier continental competition with a 100 per cent record. After eight victories from as many games, The Red Knights will equal 2012 champions Ulsan Hyundai’s nine straight wins if they beat Persepolis at home.
The top Qatari team had won all six matches in Group B, that also included the UAE’s Al Wahda, Iran’s Zob Ahan and Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv, to finish with a perfect 18 points. Al Duhail then registered an 8-3 aggregate victory over the UAE’s Al Ain in the Round of 16 to book their quarter-final dates with Persepolis.
On the other hand, Persepolis underlined their credentials by topping Group C ahead of another top Qatari side Al Sadd, the UAE’s Al Wasl and Uzbekistan’s Nasaf. They booked a second successive quarter-final berth with a dramatic late victory over the UAE’s Al Jazira in the last 16. Al Duhail are currently second in the QNB Stars League standings behind Al Sadd on goal difference, with both teams collecting seven points after three  rounds. 
Al Duhail will be without the services of forward Ismail Mohammed and midfielder Karim Boudiaf as they both are recuperating after surgery. However, they have the likes of influential South Korean attacking midfielder Nam Tae-Hee, Moroccan spearhead Yousef El Arabi, new recruit from Brazil Paolo Edmilson, young striker Almoez Ali and defender Lucas Mendes.
El Arabi was the QNB Stars League’s top scorer in the last two seasons. Iranian striker Ali Alipour leads Persepolis’ charge. The return leg will be played at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on 17th September.
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