Best Pick: West 

Red-hot Shabab Al Ahli to overcome Al Wehdat  

After topping Group D, the United Arab Emirates’ Shabab Al Ahli will next visit Jordan’s Al Wehdat and they travel to Amman in fine form having started 2025 with a bang by winning their first six games of the year.  

In-form talisman Sardar Azmoun could hold the key to unlocking the Al Wehdat defence, having scored four goals in the group stage as one of the continent’s biggest stars is enjoying a fine first campaign in Asian club football.  

Al Wehdat had no competitive games in January due to the mid-season break before returning to action in the two-legged Jordan Super Cup against league leaders Al Hussein in early February. That makes it three crunch games in the space of 10 days to kick off their 2025.  

Meanwhile, their last match on the continent – back in December – saw them suffer their only defeat in the AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 so far. The opponents? Another Emirati side, Sharjah FC, who subsequently pipped Al Wehdat to top spot in Group C after a 3-1 win. 

Shabab Al Ahli and Al Wehdat last met in the qualifying rounds of the AFC Champions League™ 2023/24, with the Emiratis winning 3-0 in Dubai. And, while a trip to Amman is far from straightforward, our expert believes they can repeat the feat with an away win on February 12.  

Best Pick: East  
Homecoming Muangthong to sink Sailors 

Off to the East we head with the Southeast Asian clash between Thailand’s Muangthong United and Singapore’s Lion City Sailors as the two clubs lock horns for the first time – and what a stage to do it at! 

After using Rajamangala Stadium as their home in the group stage, Muangthong are returning to the more familiar surroundings of the Thunderdome Stadium as they feature in the knockout rounds of an AFC tournament for the first time since their star-studded days of 2017.

Fast forward to the present, and former AC Milan youngster Emil Roback and ex-Werder Bremen winger Melvyn Lorenzen have been on fire since the start of 2025, each with a hat-trick to their name in domestic action. 

Speaking of good form, Lion City Sailors have been dominant domestically of late and are on course for a first league title since 2021. January’s draw with Buriram United in the ASEAN Club Championship and a pair wins over Port FC in the AFC Champions League Two group stage means their recent form against Thai opposition is strong.  

However, our expert believes the electric atmosphere at the Thunderdome and home comforts for Muangthong will play favourably into the Thai side’s hands and it will be the Kirins celebrating the win at the end of the first leg.  

Asian football fans, remember to sign up to our AFC Champions League Two™ 2024/25 Match Predictor at (https://www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_two/predictor.html?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=topMenuBar&utm_campaign=acl2matchpredictor&utm_content=ENG). 

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