Lebanon’s Al Ahed are seeking a second AFC Cup title after having emerged champions in 2019 while Al Nahda are determined to follow in the footsteps of fellow Omani club Al Seeb who won the 2022 edition.

Group Stage
The sides will meet for the third time this season in Tuesday’s first leg, having been drawn in Group A.

Their two meetings ended with honours even, with Al Ahed having opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over the Omani side.
The Lebanese side, however, came unstuck against Al Futuwa SC in their next match, with the Syrian side winning 1-0.

Al Nahda, meanwhile, bounced back from their opening day loss to beat Al Futuwa with the group reduced to three teams following the withdrawal of Palestine’s Jabal Al Mukaber.

A second successive win over Al Futuwa left Al Nahda well placed to advance and a 2-1 victory over Al Ahed secured their place in the West Zonal semi-finals.

Al Ahed, meanwhile, had to do it the hard way with Mohammad Al Hallak’s goal deep into added time securing them a 2-1 win over Al Futuwa in their final match, a result which saw the former champions advancing as the best runners-up from the three West groups.

Semi-finals
Al Ahed had it tough in the semi-finals as well, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Iraq’s Al Kahrabaa Club in the first leg.
They toiled for 85 minutes in the return leg but their perseverance finally paid off with Lee Erwin’s goal forcing the game into extra time and then a penalty shootout, with Al Ahed securing a 4-2 victory.

Al Nahda looked to have secured an advantage after holding Al Riffa to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Manama.

Al Riffa, however, proved to be tough opponents in the return leg with Ali Hasan Isa giving them the lead in the 33rd minute.

Walter Bwalya’s equaliser in the 59th minute forced the game into an additional 30 minutes with Al Nahda then turning on the power with strikes from Hamood Al Sadi and Issam Al Sabhi taking them into the West Zonal final