PETALING JAYA: Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will face one of the top Middle Eastern clubs in the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite quarter-finals.
The Southern Tigers, who finished sixth in the league stage and beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3-2 in the round of 16 will take on either Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli or Qatari club Al-Duhail in the knockout stage, which will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ahli are the defending champions of the ACL Elite and come in as favourites thanks to a bevy of stars such as Riyad Mahrez, Ivan Toney, Frank Kessie and Merih Demiral.
The winners of the Al-Hilal/Al-Sadd tie will face Japanese Vissel Kobe in the quarter-finals.
Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal topped the West Zone League Stage while Qatar's Al-Sadd finished eighth.
Japan’s Machida Zelvia, who topped the East Zone League Stage, will play the winners of the Al Ittihad Club/Al Wahda tie. Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad were fourth in the West Zone, with the United Arab Emirates’s Al Wahda a spot lower.
Thailand’s Buriram United will face the victors of the Tractor/Shabab Al Ahli.
Buriram finished fourth in the East Zone while Iran's Tractor were third in the West Zone League stage with the UAE’s Shabab Al-Ahli three spots lower.
The knockout stage will be preceded by the West Zone's round of 16, which will also be contested as a single-leg affair in Jeddah on April 13 and 14.
The first quarter-final is scheduled for April 16, followed by the second and third on April 17, with the final tie to be played on April 18. The first semi-final is slated for April 20, followed by the second contest on April 21.
Asia’s ultimate men’s club prize will be won at the final match on April 25 at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, where glory and a record prize purse of at least US$12mil (RM47.4mil) awaits.
