The showdown will be a first ever meeting between teams from Saudi Arabia and Thailand in the AFC Champions League Elite.  

Jeddah-based Al Ahli won their first match against an East Asian team (2-1 against Shenzhen) but have not triumphed in any since (D1 L3). This will be their first tie against an East Asian side since 2013 (lost 1-0 to FC Seoul).

Thailand's Buriram will face a team from the West Zone for just the third time in their history after their Round of 16 encounter against Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor in 2013 which they won 2-1 on aggregate before losing to 3-1 over two legs to FC Esteghlal in the quarter-finals.

Al Ahli have not lost in their last 15 matches in the AFC Champions League Elite (W11 D4), the longest current streak in the competition. They have won nine matches in 2024/25, matching the number of victories they achieved in their previous 24 matches in the competition (W9 D6 L9).

Al Ahli will be aiming to reach the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite for the second time in their history after 2012, while Buriram United will bid to become the second Thai team to reach the last four stage after BEC Tero in 2003.

Buriram will be chasing a new milestone after having kept two clean sheets on the continental stage for just the second time since 2014. 

Riyad Mahrez's eight goals is the highest tally achieved by an Al Ahli player in a single season on the continental stage. The Algerian is also the fastest player to score eight for Al Ahli in the competition (10 matches), surpassing Omar Al Soma who needed 11 games to score the same number. 

Bissoli has attempted 27 shots, with 13 on target this season – more than any Buriram player in a single campaign. He is also the joint-top scorer for Buriram in a season with four goals, level with Diogo (2015/2016), Edgar (2018/2019) and Goran Causic (2023/2024).