The Uzbek side face Al Wahda having taken just one point and failed to find the net in their previous two games at the Jar Stadium, against Al Ittihad and Piroozi Athletic.

A 1-1 draw in the previous meeting between the sides, in Abu Dhabi, and a 3-1 victory away to Piroozi have left them second despite those failings on home turf, and victory on Tuesday would see them make great strides in their progress to the last 16.

Kasimov said: "We want to break this nasty tradition for us. For us it is the main task.

“We have started playing better lately, and this progress should continue.

“The match will be very important for both teams. Both we and Al Wahda need only victory. I think playing at home will give us additional strength and help us raise our game.

“The fact that both teams will try to win makes for an interesting and open game, so tomorrow will see spectacular football.”

Bunyodkor will have to produce such a performance without the services of defender Hayrulla Karimov, who misses out through suspension after collecting his second yellow card of the tournament in that win over Piroozi last time out.

But their opponents are without star striker Fernando Baiano, although Kasimov warned: ”Al Wahda have enough skilled players to replace him."

The visitors will, however, welcome back captain Basheer Saeed and Hamdan Al Kamali back from suspension as they seek to avenge last April’s 4-1 defeat , which was Bunyodkor’s last home win in the competition.

Coach Josef Hickersberger is not reading too much into that result, claiming: "Over the past year Bunyodkor have changed dramatically. Key players are gone and the head coach has been changed.

“In addition, while we concentrated all our attention on the United Arab Emirates championship last year, we have now lost our chances in domestic competitions so all our attention is focused on the Champions League.

“We will try to exert all our strength in the remaining two matches to take second place in the group. If we can beat Bunyodkor, in the final match we absolutely can beat Piroozi."