The 38-year-old custodian was part of the Jordan squad in their inaugural AFC Asian Cup participation in 2004, helping the team reach the quarter-finals of the competition that year.

Having taken a look at the domestic rivalries in the United Arab Emirates, the-AFC.com turns its attention to Saudi Arabia in the latest installment.

Saudi Arabia is rich in football history, and the league contains two of Asia’s most successful teams in the AFC Champions League, while competitiveness among the participating clubs have resulted in several derbies coming along since the inception of the league in 1976.

The opening matches are still more than two months away, but that won’t stop us from breaking down Wednesday's draw and examining what to expect from a mouth-watering selection of groups in the West Zone.

Join the-AFC.com as we look at what to expect, what to ponder and what to watch from the matches ahead.

In lieu of waiting until April’s kick-off, we are jumping straight into this year’s extended field, analysing the contenders, the challengers and the storylines ahead in the East Zone of Asia’s premier club football competition.

Join the-AFC.com as we look at what to expect, what to ask and what to watch in the matches ahead.

The Ukrainian Premier League’s top scorer with eight goals in 11 matches for Olimpik Donetsk this season, Zahedi will link up with his countryman Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, who is on loan at the club from Fenerbahce.

In a highly-anticipated match against the 2020 AFC Champions League winners, Qatar Stars League champions Al Duhail were on the front foot from the start and their French boss was pleased with their overall performance in their debut appearance.

“I am very proud of the performance of the team in this match, and the performance in the previous match (against Al Ahly), especially in the second half,” said Lamouchi.

The 26-year-old winger, who scored 12 goals in 40 appearances for Persepolis, left the Tehran-based club in September last year ahead of the 2020 AFC Champions League group stage.