Group C winners Al-Ittihad beat domestic rivals Al-Hilal 3-1 in the one-off Round of 16 at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium at the end of May with returning coach Dimitri Davidovic in the dugout.

Midfielder Nuno Assis scored twice against Saudi League champions Al-Hilal, but the midfielder returned his to native Portugal in the summer.

Al-Ittihad filled the void vacated by Assis with the acquisition of Brazilian midfielder Wendel Geraldo for an undisclosed sum from Bordeaux after fending off interest from French side St Etienne to supplement their already potent attacking strength, which already contained Saudi Arabia midfielder Mohammed Noor and Algerian striker Abdelmalik Ziaya.

Ziaya was also on target in the first half against Al-Hilal with his fourth goal of the continental campaign, while Noor underlined his status as one of Asia's best midfielders with a pair of superb assists for Assis.

FC Seoul will rely on the considerable goalscoring talents of Montenegro striker Dejan Damjanovic, who scored his fifth goal of the campaign in the 3-0 last 16 win over Japan's Kashima Antlers, although the K-League side will have to do without former AFC Asian Player of the year Server Djeparov, who joined Saudi Arabia's Al-Shabab at the end of July.

Cerezo, meanwhile, will look to continue their impressive maiden appearance in the AFC Champions League against Jeonbuk, although the J.League side will be without Takashi Inui, who joined German second division side VfL Bochum in July after stepping into the void vacated by Shinji Kagawa.

And while Brazilian striker Rodrigo Pimpao, who scored four goals in seven starts in the 2011 AFC Champions League, joined Omiya Ardija after the last 16 successes over Gamba Osaka, Cerezo still has the considerable talents of striker Hiroshi Kiyotake at their disposal.

Kiyotake found the net for Japan in their Olympic qualifier against Kuwait before setting up the goals for Keisuke Honda and former Cerezo team-mate Kagawa in the second half of Japan's 3-0 friendly win over Korea Republic last month.

Jeonbuk, who beat China's Tianjin Teda in the last 16 after impressively winning Group G, will look to turn their recent K-League form into continued continental success after winning the AFC Champions League in 2006.

Elsewhere, Suwon Samsung Bluewings will hope Ha Tae-goon can add to the five goals the striker scored in the group stage against Iran's Zobahan.

After securing their place in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over Japan's Nagoya Grampus, Suwon also acquired 2009 AFC Champions League winner Stevica Ristic, Brazilian prospect Diego Oliveira and Uzbekistan striker Alexander Geynrikh.

Zobahan, who reached the 2010 final, will have to do without Mohammad Reza Khalatbari, who signed a two-year contract with Qatar's Al-Gharafa, although Mansour Ebrahimzadeh supplemented their attacking options over the summer by signing Portuguese midfielder Hugo Machado and striker Hawar Mulla Mohammed, who won helped Iraq win the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, from Esteghlal.

Zobahan also bolstered their midfield with the off-season acquisitions of Brazilian Felipe Alves and Haghi Davood.

Finally, Sepahan will hope considerable closed season changes seen under new coach Luca Bonacic will not halt the Iran champions' progress against Qatari qualifiers Al Sadd. Senegalese striker Ibrahim Toure, Khosro Heydari, Javad Kazemian, goalkeeper Mehdi Rahmati, Aghily and Reza Enayati all departed, while Sepahan re-signed former Iraq international strikers Emad Mohammed and Mehdi Seyed Salehi, as well as acquiring defenders Hadi Tamini and Hasan Ashjari along with goalkeepers Rahman Ahmadi and Reza Mohamamdi.
 

Cerezo Osaka (JPN) vs. Jeonbuk — Hyundai Motors (KOR)

Osaka Nagai Stadium, Osaka

Al-Ittihad (KSA) vs. FC Seoul (KOR) — Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah

Sepahan (IRN) vs. Al Sadd (QAT) — Foolad Shahr Stadium, Esfahan

Suwon Samsung Bluewings (KOR) vs. Zob Ahan (IRN) — Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon

Second Leg (Sept.): Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (KOR) vs. Cerezo Osaka (JPN) — Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonbuk

FC Seoul (KOR) vs. Al Ittihad (KSA) — Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul

Al Sadd (QAT) vs. Sepahan (IRN) — Sheik Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha

Zob Ahan (IRN) vs. Suwon Samsung Bluewings (KOR) — Foolad Shahr Stadium, Esfahan