The AFC Champions League is an elite competition which is staged each season and is contested by a number of top class teams from across Asia. 32 teams enter at the preliminary stage of the tournament and the competition is eventually whittled down to just two. The eventual winner will progress to the FIFA Club World Cup as a result of their success.

Some teams will gain automatic qualification for the tournament if they finish top of their respective league whilst many others will be required to go through the play-off system.

Older football fans are likely to remember the competition as the Asian Club Championship. It changed its name in 2002 and has remained in place ever since. Clubs from the J-League and K-League tend to dominate the competition and have been extremely successful over the years although Al-Ain were the first winners in the newly formatted AFC Champions League. The Japanese and Korean top flights get four entries each which has been integral to their recent success in the competition.

It typically runs between March and November although this has altered slightly over the years. The games are played in a two-legged format from the quarter-final stage onwards. Away goals do count in these fixtures. Surprisingly, the final is also held as a two-legged tie which is unusual. The knock-out stage typically begins around August.

2018 Prediction Report

The rise of the Chinese Super League has seen a number of clubs from the division priced up favourably in the betting markets. In June, Shanghai SIPG were the favourites in the betting and they were given a 23.08% implied probability of success. Their chances were certainly helped by their talented squad which includes Oscar and Hulk, two players who have had success in the UEFA Champions League and could make the difference. They were drawn against Kashima Antlers in the knock-out rounds which was a tough fixture for the CSL winners.

Another Chinese Super League side – Guangzhou Evergrande weren’t far behind in the betting markets and they were given 18.18% implied probability just ahead of Al Ahli who were rated as a 12.50% chance.

Jeonbuk Motors are one of the most successful sides in the competition and dominated the K-League in recent years. They were expected to go well and were given an implied probability of 12.50% as well. Al Ain who were victorious in the first ever re-branded AFC Champions League were next in the betting at 7.69%. They are the same price as the impressive Kashima Antlers.

2018 Result

After seeing off fellow K-League outfit Jeonbuk Motors, the Suwon Bluewings progressed to the semi-final stage of the competition but were eliminated at the hands of the Kashima Antlers. It resulted in two fantastic goal-heavy ties with an aggregate score of 6-5. The Antlers were joined by Iranian side Persepolis, who against the odds, saw off Al Sadd.

In the final, Kashima Antlers, who started as odds-on favourites played out a goalless draw in Iran before winning 2-0 on their own patch and securing the AFC Champions League title. It was their first-ever AFC Champions League title and the eight-time J-League winners celebrated effusively.

Along the way, the Antlers eliminated the early favourites Shanghai SIPG in the first knock-out round.