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
