The battle to reach the league stage of the AFC Champions League Elite (West) will see Al Duhail take on Iran’s Sepahan SC at the Khalifa International Stadium today at 7pm.

Al Duhail are seeking a strong start to the season by winning and qualifying for the group stage of the continent’s premier club tournament. The Red Knights are aiming to write a new chapter of Asian success under Algerian Djamel Belmadi, who has previously coached them to numerous domestic titles.

Addressing the media on eve of the match, the experienced Belmadi said, “A very tough match and a special challenge awaits us in a highly significant tournament, but we are confident in our team's ability to achieve victory.

“We have sufficient experience and potential to achieve victory and qualify for the league stage. We have undergone strong preparations and we are looking forward to a strong start to the new season. Sepahan is a serious team and we have keenly studied them technically and looked at our own strengths in preparing for the challenge," he added.

Al Duhail's star defender Karim Boudiaf, said, "We will play a decisive match against Sepahan Wednesday, and we are ready for it, having undergone intensive preparations for three weeks. We are on the right track under the leadership of our coach, Djamel Belmadi, and we are very compatible with his approach. We aspire to win and we have great experience in the Asian championship."

Sepahan FC coach Moharram Navidikia also exudes confidence in his team's abilities. He said, "The match against Al Duhail looks very difficult but we are confident in our ability to win because we are looking forward to qualifying for the league stage. It is one of the most important matches we will play this season.

"Al Duhail are a good team and have made many changes to their ranks by signing a new coach and players, but I have great confidence in my players, so I am certain that they will do their best until the last moment."

Sepahan player Ehsan Hajsafi, said, "We have analyzed Al Duhail's strengths and weaknesses well, and we are looking forward to exploiting those weaknesses to our advantage and scoring goals.

"We've had good training sessions in recent days and are improving day by day. Therefore, we are 100% mentally and physically prepared for Wednesday's match, which we hope to win and please our fans."

Al Duhail have strengthened their ranks with a number of strong signings to bolster their chances this season, most notably Italian star Marco Verratti and young Algerian striker Adil Boulbina along with Senegalese Youssouf Sabaly, Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek and Brazilian Lucas Silva Melo, known as ‘Tuta’.

Both teams’ last involvement came in 2023-24, with Al Duhail targeting a 13th appearance while Sepahan are eyeing a 15th; the two sides are also each featuring in the preliminary rounds for a second time, with the former succeeding in 2014 while the latter stumbled in 2024-25.

Semi-finalists in 2022, Al Duhail finished as 2024-25 Qatar Stars League runners-up and hold a superior head-to-head record against the away side, winning three of their four previous encounters—all in the ACL Group Stage (2012 and 2022). Sepahan, 2007 finalists and 2024-25 league runners-up in Iran, will hope to overturn the losing streak.

The two preliminary stage winners will join the 22 teams that were granted direct entry to the league stage, while the losing pair will enter the ACL Two Group Stage directly.