Sharjah look to maintain good start as Al Wahda face Al Duhail

Sharjah FC’s focus will be on continuing their good start when they face Tractor FC in the AFC Champions League Elit 2025/26 on Monday.

UAE’s Sharjah are on four points while Iran’s Tractor have yet to register a win with both their earlier ties ending in draws. Sharjah will have to be at their best as Tractor are unbeaten in the sides’ previous two meetings, which ended in a draw and a defeat for the AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 winners.

In fact, Tractor are the only side Sharjah have failed to score against on the continental stage and they will look to Rey Manaj to lead their search for goals, with the Albanian striker having already netted twice on the continent this season.

Sharjah will also have to be strong at the back, having conceded four goals in their opening two matches.

Tractor will be desperate to get on the winning trail after their two draws left them eighth in the standings after Matchday Two. With only the top eight teams to advance to the next stage, Tractor have to start picking up the points if they are to stay in what is developing into a highly competitive Round of 16 race.

Al Wahda FC will target maximum points when they welcome Al Duhail SC to the Al Nahyan Stadium for their AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 tie on Monday.

The UAE side sit fourth in the standings with four points, while Qatar’s Al Duhail are three adrift in ninth place.

Meanwhile, Al Wahda, however, will tread carefully as their head-to-head record isn’t in their favour, having lost both previous encounters against the Qatari side. They will draw confidence from their good start to the season - domestically as well as on the continental stage - in their bid to walk away with the points.

Leading their charge will be Omar Khribin, who led Syria to AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 qualification this past week. Al Duhail, who held defending champions Al Ahli Saudi FC to a 2-2 draw three weeks ago, need to get on the winning trail if knockout stage qualification is to be achieved.

That will require defensive resolve, with four goals having already been conceded but they are struggling for form - sitting sixth in the Qatar Stars League. They did come within a whisker of defeating Al Ahli and if they can reproduce that form, they may well extend their winning streak against Al Wahda.

Elsewhere, Al Ahli Saudi FC will be aiming to return to winning ways when they entertain Al Gharafa SC in the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 on Monday.

The defending champions were held to a 2-2 draw by Qatar’s Al Duhail SC on Matchday Two, which halted the Saudi Arabian side’s winning run at eight.

The draw, however, meant that Al Ahli joined Saudi Pro League rivals Al Hilal SFC and Ulsan HD of Korea Republic on a 20-match unbeaten run in the continental showpiece and they will be determined to claim the record for themselves on Monday.

The head-to-head with Al Gharafa is very much in Al Ahli’s favour as they are unbeaten in their last five meetings - winning two and drawing three.

They will expect to score, having already netted six goals, but their defence has been porous with four conceded in their earlier two matches and Al Ahli will be focused on staying tight at the back.

Al Gharafa will not be fazed by the prospect of playing Al Ahli away, especially after defeating Iraq’s Al Shorta 2-0 on Matchday Two.

Joselu will be counted on to deliver the goals, with the Spanish forward leading the continental charts with three and if he scores on Monday, he will become the first Al Gharafa player to score in three consecutive games to start a season since at least 2013.

The Qatari side, however, have lost their last three away games on the continent.

It will be a meeting between two struggling sides when Al Shorta welcome Al Ittihad Club to the Al-Madina International Stadium in Baghdad for their AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 tie on Monday.

Iraq’s Al Shorta only have a point to their name while Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad are in even more dire straits, having suffered defeats in their opening two matches.

While the sides will be squaring off for the first time, Al Shorta have a poor record against teams from Saudi Arabia - having only one of their nine encounters.

Beaten 2-0 by Qatar’s Al Gharafa on Matchday Two, Al Shorta will hope home ground advantage takes them past Al Ittihad.