Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr have been paired with Yokohama F. Marinos from Japan in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League Elite – but have been placed on the opposite side of the draw to Riyadh rivals Al Hilal.
Hilal, winners of the title on a record four occasions, will meet Gwangju in the opening game of the finals phase on April 25.
Should they make it through then they will face the winners of the last-eight clash between Kawasaki Frontale of Japan and Qatar's Al Sadd.
Should Nassr see off Yokohama – beaten in last year's final by UAE's Al Ain – then they will meet either their Saudi Pro League rivals Al Ahli or Buriram United of Thailand.
The draw creates a pathway for a potential Riyadh derby in the final.
All four quarter-finals will be played in Jeddah as part of a new-look finals week. The semi-finals will be played on April 29 and 30, with the final to be held at the King Abdullah Sports City on May 3.
Yokohama are managed by former England assistant manager Steve Holland, who spent many years as No 2 to Gareth Southgate.
Club ambassador Yasuhiro Hato is confident they can pose a serious threat to Ronaldo and Nassr.
“We are very honoured to finish as the top team in the East zone. We will do our best to justify this position with our performance,” said Hato
“We are still going through a familiarisation phase under the new head coach. In the domestic league, we went through a difficult stage but we are now in a better shape and we have to use this to the best of our abilities to compete in Jeddah.”
Al Hilal, meanwhile, will consider themselves strong favourites to reach the last four, but will have to be on their guard against a Gwangju team seeking to create more history.
The only side from Korea to have advanced to the quarter-finals, Gwangju are enjoying a memorable debut on the continental stage and technical director Jang Ki-bong is confident they will not be overawed when taking on one of Asia’s biggest teams.
“We believe in our qualities and we feel that our performances showed that we deserve to be here,” he said. “We created some drama with a dramatic comeback [against Japan's Vissel Kobe in the Round of 16] and we are looking forward to more matches in this competition.
“Al Hilal are a good team – like most West teams are – and to be honest, are better than teams from the East. But we are not afraid and we will fight to defy the odds and make sure that we do everything we can to compete against them.”
Jeddah side Al Ahli, twice runners-up in the competition, will look to land the silverware on home turf after reaching the quarter-finals with an impressive record of nine wins and a draw on their continental journey so far.
Ahli spokesman Faisal Yahya Zaid admitted he was pleased to be drawn against Thai outfit Buriram United.
“The draw was amazing, it’s going to be a tough tournament. Every match is considered a knockout match. The road to the title will be very exciting,” he said. “Our efforts are going to be intensified and we’re going to take it game by game to get to the final.”
Kawasaki Frontale’s immediate target will be to reach the semi-finals, with the Japanese side having fallen at the quarter-final stage three times.
Special ambassador Tetsuo Nakanishi believes that Frontale have a very good chance of upsetting Al Sadd and ending their quarter-final jinx.
“It’s a very difficult situation for the East teams, because we always play very difficult games against West Asian teams. Therefore, we need to prepare well,” he said. “We are very happy to have reached the knockout stage and want to make it to the semi-finals for the first time. We will be ready to face Al Sadd, who are a strong team.”
Al Sadd team manager Abdul Aziz Al Jaidi said the Qatari champions will not take Frontale lightly.
“We will not underestimate any team, especially since we will be playing against a side that has put in strong performances in this year's AFC Champions League,” he said. “We will be ready for the occasion, and we are very motivated.”
AFC Champions League Elite draw
Quarter-finals (April 25-27)
Al Hilal v Gwangju
Al Ahli v Buriram United
Yokohama F. Marinos v Al Nassr
Kawasaki Frontale v Al Sadd
Semi-finals (April 29-30)
Al Hilal/Gwangju v Al Ahli/Buriram United
Yokohama F. Marinos/Al Nassr v Kawasaki Frontale/Al Sadd
*Final to be played on May 3 at King Abdullah Sports City
