Al Rayyan will face a tough test against Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia in the second round of 2024-2025 AFC Champions League Elite (West Zone) at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on Monday, September 30, 2024. The kick-off is at 9pm.

The Al Rayyan delegation departed Doha on Saturday, headed by the club’s vice-president Mr. Ali Salem Afifa. It comprises 27 players - Fahad Younes, Sami Beladi, Paulo Victor, David Garcia, Ameed Mahajneh, Andre Amaro, Mohammed Saleh, Khaled Muftah, Ahmed Al Menhali, Hazem Ahmed, Adel Bader, Joshua Brent, Murad Naji, Ali Qaderi, Julian De Sart, Francisco Ginella, Rodrigo Tabata, Khaled Ali, Abdulrahman Al Harazi, Gabriel Pereira, Achraf Bencharki, Mohammed Siraj, Mahmoud Trezeguet, Tamim Mansour, Roger Guedes, Ahmed Al Rawi and Abdelaziz Hatem.

Al Rayyan are competing in the inaugural edition of AFC Champions League Elite after finishing as runners-up in the 2024-2025 season Qatar league.

This match-up is anticipated to be highly competitive as Al Rayyan will be up against Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia, a team regarded as one of the leading contenders for the title.

In their opening match, Al Rayyan experienced a defeat against Al Hilal Saudi Arabia, losing 1-3 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. Despite demonstrating a commendable performance, the team was unable to convert their prolonged periods of dominance to goals.

The technical staff of Al Rayyan, led by coach Younes Ali, is focused on determining the optimal line-up to challenge Al Nassr, particularly with the recent addition of several talented players.

In the context of Ooredoo Stars League, Al Rayyan faced a setback in the sixth week, losing 1-2 to Al Arabi.

Al Nassr had drawn 1-1 in their opening match of the tournament against Iraq’s Al Shorta. They will aim to secure a favourable outcome on their home ground and a significant audience is expected to attend, given the rivalry between the two teams and the competitive spirit of both coaches as they strive to earn the first three points.

Both teams are competing in this tournament under new coaching leadership. Al Rayyan recently appointed Younes to replace Swede Poya Asbaghi, who managed them against Al Hilal.

And Al Nassr hired Italian Stefano Pioli, who succeeded Portuguese Luis Castro, who guided them against Al Shorta.

The AFC Champions League Elite draw saw the participating clubs being divided into two groups of 12 teams each in the East and West Zones. The group stage will be held from September 16 to February 19, 2025, and each team will face eight different clubs from its zone with four matches at home and four away.

The best eight clubs will qualify for the Round of 16 and then the quarterfinals in Saudi Arabia from April 25 to May 4, 2025.