Playing in their first-ever knockout fixture at the AFC Champions League, Navbahor host Al Ittihad in the first leg of their round of 16 tie on Thursday at Markaziy Stadium.
The club from Uzbekistan finished the group stage of this tournament as the best second-place team with 13 points, winning their previous Champions League fixture, 2-1 over Mumbai City, while the Saudis topped Group C with 15 points, defeating Sepahan 2-1 on matchday six.
Match preview
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It has been a long road to the last 16 for Navbahor, who needed to defeat Al-Wakrah in a qualifier just to get into the group stage of this tournament.
However, Samvel Babayan's men have earned their place into the knockout stage, losing just one of their six group fixtures in their debut campaign in this competition.
The club from Namangan have not been quite as sharp on home soil, winning just one of their previous four matches in all competitions at Markaziy Stadium (3-0 triumph over Bunyodkor).
Navbahor found the back of the net 11 times in the group phase, while they were the highest-scoring side in the Uzbekistan Super League during the 2023 campaign (44 goals).
Seven of their 11 goals scored during the group phase happened in the final 45 minutes of play, while they triumphed in their only two matches when netting in the opening half.
They have yet to defeat a club from Saudi Arabia, earning just one draw (1-1) versus Al-Hilal, the current Saudi Pro League leaders in the group stage of this tournament, but also losing their only home fixture of the group stage against them (2-0).
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Making their first appearance in this competition since the 2018-19 campaign, Al Ittihad had little trouble in the group phase, winning five of six matches.
It is a sharp contrast from what they have shown domestically this season, with the reigning Saudi Pro League champions currently fifth in the table, losing three of their last four encounters.
Marcelo Gallardo's men enter this contest having won their previous two away fixtures in all competitions, outscoring their opponents 7-0 over that stretch.
Nadi Al-Sha'ab have been particularly sharp defensively away from home in the Saudi Pro League, posting six clean sheets while conceding a goal or fewer in all but one road fixture in the top flight this season.
The club from Jeddah have never been eliminated in the last 16 of this competition and have not been knocked out at that stage of any tournament since the 2019-20 King's Cup (2-1 loss to Al-Fateh).
It has been nearly 14 years since they last suffered a Champions League defeat versus a side from Uzbekistan, losing 3-0 at Bunyodkor Tashkent in a February 2010 group outing.
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Team News
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Ibrokim Yuldoshev was suspended in the previous Navbahor Champions League fixture against Mumbai City after receiving a pair of cautions in their defeat versus Al-Hilal.
There were two changes made to the Navbahor starting 11 from matchday five to six, with Azimjon Akhmedov and Luka Cermelj replacing Yuldoshev and Filip Ivanovic.
Goals from Jamshid Iskanderov and Jovan Dokic enabled them to win their matchday six affair, with the former finishing the group stage with two goals, equal to Oston Urunov for the most on the team.
Ahmed Bamsaud, Ahmed Sharahili and Abdullah Al-Jadaani are all expected to miss this match for Al Ittihad due to cruciate ligament tears, Luiz Felipe tore a muscle in December and is still recovering, while Omar Hawsawi and Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti have unknown injuries.
Al Ittihad captain Karim Benzema was dropped from their previous domestic encounter after reportedly storming out of a training session, while fellow Frenchman N'Golo Kante, who missed their final two group fixtures, was in the starting 11 in their 3-0 domestic victory over Al-Tai last week.
Jota and Saleh Al-Amri each netted in their matchday six victory over Sepahan, the first for each of them to this point of the competition.
Navbahor possible starting lineup:
Yusupov; Golban, Ivanovic, Milovic, Cermelj; Dokic, Boltaboev; Ismoilov, Iskanderov, Sobirizhonov; Abdukholiqov
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Al-Mayouf; O. Hawsawi, Sharahili, Hegazi, Z. Hawsawi; Al-Sahafi, Fabinho, Kante, Jota; Romarinho, Al-Amri
We say: Navbahor 0-2 Al Ittihad
Given the popularity of the Saudi Pro League in Uzbekistan, home field might not be a big advantage for Navbahor in this encounter.
Neither side are in great form at the moment, but Al Ittihad have at least played their share of meaningful games lately, while Thursday will mark nearly a month since their opponents will have played, which should give the Saudis an edge.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
