Al Rayyan take on Iran’s Esteghlal in the 2020 AFC Champions League play-off tomorrow for a berth in the group stage. 
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 Saturday.
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 tomorrow.
Al Rayyan have had a bad run of late as they lost 1-4 to Al Sadd in the 2020 Qatar Cup semi-final and 2-4 to Al Gharafa in the the QNB Stars League on Thursday.
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.


Al Sailiya aim to 
create history 
Al Sailiya are aiming to script history in the 2020 AFC Champions League when they face Iranian team Shahr Khodro in play-off on Tuesday for a berth in the group stage 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. Shahr Khodro qualified to play Al Sailiya after they defeated Bahrain’s Riffa 2-1 at the Sharajah Stadium in the preliminary round on 25th January.
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 semifinal. 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. Al Sailiya rely mainly on players such as Algerian Nadir Belhadj, Iranian Karim Ansari and captain Majdi Siddiq.   qsl.qa