In a much-anticipated first leg of the AFC Champions League play-offs, Saudi powerhouse Ainas welcomed UAE rivals Shabbi Al Ali to their home ground. The clash saw Portuguese superstar C. Ronaldo make his AFC Champions League debut and attracted the world's attention. However, Al Shabab Al Ali are no pushovers, having reached the last 16 of last season's AFC Champions League, and they have shown their strength against the yet-to-be-realized Ainas, which makes the odds of (-2) for the visitors quite attractive. (Match kicks off at 1:20 a.m. on Wednesday)
Ainas spared no expense in building a star-studded squad in pre-season, and naturally became the favorites to win the AFC Champions League this month after winning the Arabian Club Champions Cup first. Before kicking off their AFC Champions League campaign, they are rumored to have signed Manchester City center back Napaldi and Porto midfielder Odavio Emerson for a transfer fee of 90 million euros (HK$766 million), which is a clear indication of their determination to sweep the league and AFC Champions League titles.
Despite having a star-studded lineup with C-Ro, Shadio Vinny, Posovic, Alex Dinis, and Szko Fenner, too many new players will need time to adapt and gel. The fact that Ainas lost their first two league matches of the season is a testament to the fact that the team still has room for improvement in many areas.
