Al-Nassr seeded above Al-Hilal as AFC Champions League Elite draw nears | OneFootball

Al-Nassr have edged rivals Al-Hilal in early seeding for the AFC Champions League Elite, placed a tier higher ahead of next Tuesday’s draw at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

According to Goal.com, the Asian Football Confederation has outlined a 32-club league phase split equally between West and East regions.

In the West, clubs are arranged into four tiers. Each side plays eight matches against teams from each tier, no domestic meetings, and the top eight advance to the round of 16.

Perhaps surprisingly, Al-Hilal, the competition’s most decorated club, are in the third tier with Al-Gharafa, Tractor and Al-Wasl. Al-Ahli, champions in the last two editions, headline the first tier alongside Al-Ain, Al-Sadd and Esteghlal.

Al-Nassr return after missing the last edition, placed in the second tier with Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Baku, Iraq’s Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and the UAE’s Shabab Al-Ahli. Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadsiah are in the fourth tier with Qatar’s Al-Shamal and Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor.

Source: Goal.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”