The defeat to Al Duhail would have been a shock to the system as Al Ittihad looked to have turned a corner with two wins after having suffered back-to-back defeats in their opening matches.

They did, however, show spirit as they attempted to fight back against Al Duhail and given the quality in their ranks, victory will be theirs for the taking against Nasaf.

Another defeat for Nasaf will mean the end of their already slim hopes of advancing and the statistics are not in their favour - having lost each of their last three away matches on the continent.

Such has been their challenging journey that Abduvohid Ne'matov has made six saves in each of the four matches the custodian has played in this season, with Nasaf having conceded a tournament high 14 goals.