Al-Ittihad to face UAE’s Al-Jazira as preliminary battles to kick off in AFC Champions League Elite

DUBAI: Saudi’s Al-Ittihad are set to face UAE’s Al-Jazira in Abu Dhabi as the quest to reach the league and group stages of both the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two for the 2026-27 campaign gets underway next week with seven high-stakes one-off ties in the preliminary stage.

Four League Stage berths are at stake in the ACL Elite — two each in the West and East Regions — as eight clubs do battle on Aug. 11, with the losing clubs directly entering the group stage of the ACL Two.

In the ACL Two, four clubs will lock horns for two group stage spots in the West on Aug. 12, with the defeated sides gaining direct entry to the group stage of the AFC Challenge League.

The respective winning teams will go into the hat for the ACL Elite League Stage and ACL Two group stage draws, both scheduled to be held on Aug. 18 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

ACL Elite - West

Having missed out last season, Uzbek powerhouses Pakhtakor are hoping to take their place among the continent’s elite again for a 20th time in the modern ACL era — which would rank them second only behind the historic 21 campaigns by Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal. The unrivaled 16-time local champions, who finished second in 2025-26 to accompany their record 14th domestic cup triumph, will take on Jordan’s Al-Hussein at the Pakhtakor Stadium in Tashkent, with the visitors aiming to take part in the expanded League Stage for the first time off the back of a domestic double in 2025-26 where they claimed their third league crown — all achieved in consecutive fashion — and first-ever cup success.

At the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Emirati outfit Al-Jazira are eying an 11th involvement, with their most recent being a group stage exit in 2022.