Qatar’s Al Rayyan are upbeat ahead of their AFC Champions League play-off against Iran’s Saipa. The kick-off is at 18:00 at the Al Sadd Stadium in Doha on Tuesday, 19th February.

Qatar’s Al Duhail and Al Sadd directly qualified for the group stage of 2019 AFC Champions League by virtue of having finished as winners and runners-up of 2017-18 season QNB Stars League.

Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa, who finished third and fourth in the standings, went into play-off. If they win, they will book a berth in the group stage.

Al Rayyan are on a high after beating Al Arabi 3-1 in Week 16 of the QNB Stars League. In the process, The Lions jumped from fourth to third in the table with 30 points.

New recruit and Venezuelan striker Gelmin Rivas carries much of Al Rayyan’s hopes as he made his debut in Qatar memorable by scoring two goals and setting up the other against Al Arabi.

Al Rayyan will be bostered by the presence of captain Rodrigo Tabata, who has been suspended for two QNB Stars League matches as a result of the decision against him by the Qatar Football Association’s Disciplinary Committee for his action during the match against Al Kharaitiyat in the QSL Cup.

Tabata had missed their Al Arabi match and will also miss their Qatar Clasico against Al Sadd on 23rd February.

Al Rayyan, under Turkish coach Bulent Uygun, also have the likes of Lucca Borges, Gonzalo Viera, Koh Myong-Jin and Sebastian Soria.

Saipa qualified for play-off after finishing fourth in the Iranian league last season. They then beat India’s Minerva Punjab to qualify for Al Rayyan. The winners will enter Group B, which includes the UAE’s Al Wahda, Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan champions Lokomotiv.