Asian club football returns on Monday with the new AFC Champions League Elite kicking off, and a revamped tournament format promises to deliver greater intrigue over the next ten months or so.
Only 24 teams will now compete in the continent's top tier, split evenly into the East and West regions.
Departing from the previous group-stage format, each region will now see its 12 clubs vying for position on a single table and playing a total of eight games throughout the league stage.
As ever, hope springs eternal for all involved as this stage of the tournament -- but which sides loom as genuine contenders? And who will need an almighty effort to go all the way?
Here, we rank the 12 clubs in the West according to their championship tiers.
The legitimate contenders: Al Ain, Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ahli
Given last season was the first since the influx of star names to the Saudi Pro League after their newfound spending power, it initially seemed a certainty that one of their representatives would go on to be crowned champions.
Instead, they were left by the wayside by a surprise package so it is impossible to start with anyone else other than defending champions Al Ain of United Arab Emirates.
21 years after their first and only previous triumph, and having not enjoyed the best of times in the competition recently, Al Hilal impressively saw off both Al Nassr and Al Hilal to be the West Zone's surprise representatives in the decider -- where they would overcome a first-leg deficit to defeat Yokohama F. Marinos 6-3 on aggregate on the back off an irrepressible display by Soufiane Rahimi .
Nonetheless, only one team before in the ACL era has managed to successfully retain the crown, which means history is against them but try telling that to coach Hernán Crespo - who has opted against making too many changes over the summer and preferred to keep his faith in his all-conquering charges from last term.
Yet, the Saudi Arabian sides will certainly be out for revenge and no one looms larger than Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
The former romped to yet another SPL crown last term -- finishing 14 points ahead of their closest challengers - and have added João Cancelo to their ranks, although an even bigger addition could come in the form of Neymar 's return from a long-term injury further down the road.
Al Nassr will also be backing themselves to go all the way with Cristiano Ronaldo showing no signs of slowing down, having opened the 2024-25 campaign with four goals in five matches along with two for Portugal in the recent international window -- becoming the first male footballer to reach 900 goals in the process.
Al Ahli , the third of the SPL contingent, have never tasted success on the continental stage before and are returning for the first time since 2021 but boast considerable firepower in stars like Roberto Firmino , Riyad Mahrez and recent arrival Ivan Toney .
The dark horses: Al Sadd, Persepolis, Al Wasl, Al Gharafa
As two-time former champions, Al Sadd will be expected to give a good account of themselves even if the Qatar Stars League has failed to attract the same level of stars as the SPL in recent seasons.
While their foreign contingent does not catch the eye in the same manner as Al Hilal, Al Nassr or Al Ahli, they do have a plethora of Qatar internationals who have featured in the nation's past two consecutive AFC Asian Cup triumphs.
Likewise, Persepolis are a team with an excellent track record in the ACL and the Iranian outfit loom the likeliest challengers from Iran.
Although Al Ain are the reigning continental champions, they did relinquish their domestic crown last term to Al Wasl , who -- similar to Al Sadd -- lay claim to a significant amount of current United Arab Emirates internationals.
Another Qatari challenger could also come in the form of Al Gharafa , who were last champions of the QSL in 2009-10 but currently have a formidable attack spearheaded by Spain internationals Rodrigo and Joselu .
The long shots: Esteghlal, Al Rayyan, Al Shorta, Pakhtakor
While Esteghlal are another regular Iranian feature in the top tier of Asian football, it has been over three decades since they last lifted the trophy.
They should pose a real test to any opposition but it remains to be seen if they have what it takes to really challenge.
Qatar's Al Rayyan have become increasingly-common competitors but the 2022 campaign marked the first time they reached the knockout round, so there could still be some ground to make up.
And while both Iraq and Uzbekistan have shown tremendous improvement at international level, their respective representatives -- Al Shorta and Pakhtakor -- might still find the going tough at club level even though they are unlikely to be pushovers.
Local News
Comments / 0