Focus on Malkiya Club

The single-legged game in Al Ain will mark the Bahraini club's first ever game in an Asian competition and, regardless of the result, it is bound to be a special occasion for the team known as Fares Al Gharbiya or 'The Knight of the West'.

That nickname arises from the club's location in the eponymous village of the same name in the former Western governorate of Bahrain, as they have been the only representative of the region in the top tier for many years now.

However, despite that title of pride, Malkiya had never won any silverware in its history - until the extraordinary campaign of 2016-17 - in what was described by the Bahraini media as nothing short of a miracle.