AFC - Al Shabab coach Michel Preud'homme is sweating on the fitness of skipper Ahmed Ateef along with fellow midfielder Fahad Al Dossari ahead of Tuesday’s key meeting with fellow Group A pacesetters Tractorsazi Tabriz in the AFC Champions League.

Ateef (pictured) has featured in Al Shabab’s two opening fixtures in the competition this season as the Saudi champions first beat Qatar’s El Jaish 2-0 at home before drawing 1-1 with Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi three weeks ago.

He also featured on Friday as third place Al Shabab beat Al Taawon 2-1 in the Saudi League, but is listed as doubtful alongside fellow midfielder Al Dossari as Preud'homme’s side seek to establish an advantage at the top of the table heading into the halfway point of the group stage.

“Our opponents are a strong team and they have good attacking line. The two sides have made a good start in the competition which means that the match will be decisive to determine the shape of the group,” said Al Shabab coach Michel Preud'homme.

“We are ready for the match and prepared with a good win in the local league and this will give us a good motivation to continue our winning ways in the AFC Champions League.

“I hope that the players will give all their best to get the three important points especially we are playing at home in front of our fans.”

AFC Champions League debutants Tractorsazi also extended their unbeaten start to the campaign last time out as last season’s Iran Pro League runners-up drew 3-3 with El Jaish in Qatar having beaten Al Jazira 3-1 at home.

And coach Antonio Oliveira will have Mohammad Ebrahimi at his disposal after the forward missed the draw with El Jaish after being sent-off in the closing stages of the win over Al Jazira.

“Al Shabab are a strong team and they have good experience in the competition. They are favourites in the group while we are taking part for the first time,” said Tractorsazi coach Oliveira.

“However, we will try our best to have a good performance in the game in order to continue our good position in the group.

“We have a good chance to get into the knockout stage and hopefully we can get a positive result.”

Also in Group A on Tuesday, both Qatar’s El Jaish and Al Jazira of the UAE Pro League go in search of their first wins of the campaign at Al Rayyan Stadium.

El Jaish will be without suspended duo Mohamed Methnani and Ko Seul-ki, while defender Marcone Amaral is sidelined after suffering a hamstring injury in Friday’s 2-1 win over Al Khraitiat.

Coach Razvan Lucescu could also be without defenders Nayef Al Khater and Fawaz Al Khater, who are both struggling to recover from recent injuries.

“We are ready for the game which we want to win and get our first three points as we lost an important chance to win the previous match against Tractorsazi. We have forgotten the previous two matches and we are now in a good situation to look forward and get good results,” said Romanian coach Lucescu.

“We are playing against an experienced side who had a good performance in the competition last year. We will try our best to avoid mistakes and get a better result than we had against Al Shabab and Tractorsazi and I’m confident that the players will have a good performance in the game.”

Matias Delgado, meanwhile, will miss Al Jazira’s trip to Qatar after the Argentinean midfielder was sent-off in the closing stages of the 1-1 draw with Al Shabab, while defender Salem Masoud is ruled out with a knee injury.

“There is no doubt that the match is important and hard for us. The two teams are going through a similar situation in the group and this means that the match will be important and decisive for the two sides,” said Al Jazira coach Luis Milla, who saw his side lose 3-2 to Al Wasl on Friday.

“El Jaish are a good team and they have several important players. We are looking for our first win in the group and this is the same situation for El Jaish.

“I believe that the chance is still available for us. We want to get a positive result and we have prepared well for the match.”