Kuala Lumpur: The 2019 AFC Cup season kicks off on Tuesday when Palestine's Hilal Al Quds Club play host to Al Nasr of Oman in their West Zone Playoff, where a place in the group stage awaits the winners.
Play-off – West Zone
February 5: Hilal Al Quds Club (PLE) v Al Nasr (OMA)
Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium, West Bank, 1700 local time
Hilal Al Quds Club
Palestine’s Hilal Al Quds Club guaranteed themselves a third AFC Cup campaign following their West Bank League title success. Once again, they will start in the playoffs, the stage at which they exited the competition in both 2015 and 2018.
How they qualified: West Bank League champions
Past AFC Cup: 2015 – Play-offs; 2018 – Play-offs
Al Nasr
A tense penalty shootout victory over Sohar SC in the final of the Sultan Qaboos Cup ensured Al Nasr a spot in the AFC Cup playoffs. It will be their first appearance in the competition since losing narrowly to Bahrain’s Al Muharraq in the 2006 quarter-finals.
How they qualified: Sultan Qaboos Cup winners
Past AFC Cups: 2006 – Quarter-finals
Source: the-afc.com