Pakhtakor’s dominance of football in Uzbekistan was broken last year when Tashkent rivals Bunyodkor ended their run of six consecutive league titles and seven straight cups.

But the eight-time league winners have retooled for the new season, signing former Serbia youth international Bojan Miladinovich and bringing in youngsters Sherzod Karimov and Dilshod Sharofetdinov.

Pakhtakor coach Viktor Jalilov believes that the new recruits will greatly benefit the club as they prepare to face United Arab Emirates league leaders Al Ahli at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai in their Group A opener tomorrow.

"We have some exciting new talents in the side," he said. "Miladinovic has a lot of experience, though he has just turned 23. He has played many matches in Serbian league.

"Karimov was one of the heroes of at the AFC Under-19 Championship, while Sharofetdinov has great potential.

"So we are hoping for a good start to our campaign in Asia. Al Ahli are a good side and playing at home, but we have the side to get a positive result."

Al Ahli defeated Al Jazira 4-2 last week, a result that took them to the top of the UAE league and filled them with confidence ahead of their clash with Pakhtakor.

"The Jazira game is in the past now. It was just one small step in our season. We are now fully focused on the Champions League and want to start our campaign with a win," he said.

"Sure, a win like that can do wonders for morale but we do not want to over-emphasise the importance of one game."

The other Group A game is in Riyadh, where interim coach Necula Catalin takes charge of only his second match for Al Hilal after replacing sacked Romanian compatriot Cosmin Olaroiu.

"The game against Saba Battery will not be easy especially as it is our first match in the continental championship," said Catalin.

"I hope that our fans will fill the stadium because their support is important for us in the game.

"We will fight until the end to get three points and we will use our best available squad."

Saba Battery are playing in the ACL for only the second time after making their debut in 2006 but coach Firouz Karimi is confident of getting a result.

"We will go into the game against Al Hilal with a prepared team," said Karimi.

"We are keen to do well in the AFC Champions League and we are looking for a good start on Tuesday.

"We came to Riyadh to get three points. It is going to be a difficult match but we have what it takes to get back home with a good result."