The football club "Al-Ain" will face off against the referee trial "Raiyan" of Qatar today at 18:00 at the Hazaar bin Zaid Stadium in the framework of the sixth round of the AFC Champions League. The team aims to improve its performance compared to previous matches and maintain its slim hopes for a successful advance to the continental season.
In the current champion group, the only option left is to win if they want to keep their chances to progress to the round of 16. Currently, there are still three places available for advancement from the Western Zone, after "Al-Hilal," "Al-Ahli," and "Al-Nasr" from Saudi Arabia, as well as the Qatari "Sadd" and "Vasl" have already progressed to the next stage.
"The leader" enters this confrontation against the background of an acute crisis, suffering from a sequence of failures that has left it in the penultimate 11th position in the tournament table with only two points. Although the mathematical chance to advance still exists, it appears extremely fragile, as it depends on the results of its games and matches of other teams.
Regarding FC "Al-Ain," the situation with indicators began the season, but in the current 2025 year, it has worsened: the team has achieved only one victory in the last six matches in all competitions, suffered two defeats and endured three losses, and has recently been eliminated from the President's Cup at the quarter-finals stage.
These figures reflect the depth of the crisis, in which the team currently finds itself, suffering from defeats, a disgraceful record, and instability in performances, which evokes discontent from fans, used to seeing their team fighting for every trophy.
With today's victory, "Al-Ain" will maintain the chances of moving forward, but it will need results from competitors in the remaining tournaments. In case of a draw or defeat, the team is likely to abandon the fight for advancement and will clash with additional pressures.
On the other hand, the Qatari "Raiyan" enters the field with relatively better performance indicators, taking fifth place with five points after one victory, two draws, and three losses. They realize that a victory over "Al-Ain" in its stadium will give them a strong impulse in the battle for one of the remaining places ahead.
