Lekhwiya and Al Rayyan will be flying the Qatari flag in this year’s Asian Champions League which kicks off across the vast expanse of the world’s largest continent today.
With El Jaish and Al Sadd failing to make the group stage of the lucrative event this year, the onus is now on defending Qatar Stars League champions Al Rayyan and four-time winners Lekhwiya to prove that Qatar can hold its own when it comes to continental club football.
Lekhwiya are the first to see action as they take on top UAE side Al Jazira at the Lekhwiya Stadium at 4.50pm today in Group B, while Al Rayyan meet Al Wahda, also from the UAE, tomorrow in Group D.
Lekhwiya, who led the QSL by six points at one stage before allowing Al Sadd to catch up with them, will have to be at their best to outwit Al Jazira, who are on an eight-game winning streak in the UAE Pro League. However, Al Jazira  are also aware that continental club football can be a totally different ball game, having made their exit in the group stage last year with just one point to their credit.
But they are in cracking form of late, while Lekhwiya seem to have lost a bit of their spark, having drawn with Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan before crashing to a shock 3-1 defeat to Umm Salal in recent weeks in the QSL.
Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi, however, was confident his team can pull off an opening win against Henk ten Cate’s Al Jazira.
“We have to shift focus to the AFC Champions League now despite our recent setbacks in the Qatar Stars League,” Belmadi said.
“The continental event is a huge tournament with teams that are very strong and we need to be at our best to progress in the tournament and we are confident about that,” he added.
But Lekhwiya are no pushovers either, having reached the quarter-finals in 2013 before bowing out to eventual winners Guangzhou Evergrande.
The made the last eight in 2015 too, but lost to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal. Apart from Al Jazira, the other teams in their group are Saudi Arabia’s Al Fateh and Iran’s Esteghlal Kouzestan.
Elsewhere, the first round of fixtures includes a mouthwatering clash between 2015 runners-up Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates and two-time Asian champions Esteghlal FC the pick of the day in Group A.
Al Ahli narrowly missed out on winning the 2015 competition after suffering a 1-0 aggregate defeat to Guangzhou Evergrande in the final, while Esteghlal return for the first time since 2014 having seen off Al Sadd on penalties following a scoreless draw to advance via the Play-offs.
Elsewhere in Group A, 2016 quarter-finalists Lokomotiv will be hosted by Saudi Arabian debutants Al Taawoun on the back of producing their best performance to date in the continental tournament.
Also today, another debutant, Esteghlal Khouzestan of Islamic Republic of Iran, will open the competition in Group B by taking on Saudi Arabia’s Al Fateh, whose only previous appearance came in 2014.
Esteghlal Khouzestan caused a major upset by claiming their maiden Iran Pro League title last year and have a recent history that mirrors that of their opponents, who did likewise in winning their first and only Saudi Professional League championship in 2013.
Al Ain will attempt to bounce back from the disappointment of their final defeat to Jeonbuk when they host 2010 runners-up Zobahan in Group C on Tuesday – a repeat of last year’s Round of 16 clash.
As ever, the home side will look to their talisman, 2016 AFC Player of the Year Omar Abdulrahman, to lead them to victory but the Emiratis will be aware that Zobahan will be no pushovers after the Iranians claimed a 1-1 draw on their last visit to Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.