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<p>Qatar’s Al Sadd have their task cut out as they face Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in their AFC Champions League first-leg semifinal in Doha on Tuesday. The kick-off is at 18:30 at the Al Sadd Stadium.</p><p>Al Sadd reached the semifinal by defeating Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, while Al Hilal progressed to the last-four stage after putting it across Al Ittihad, also from that country.</p><p>The Al Sadd-Al Hilal return leg will be played in Riyadh on October 22.</p><p>Al Sadd will target nothing less than a victory in front of home fans as that would give them a big advantage when they play the second leg away.</p><p>The 2011 AFC Champions League winners had begun their preparations on 25th September, a day after their 3-1 victory over Al Sailiya in the QNB Stars League’s deferred match from Week 3.</p><p>Al Sadd are on a high as they are leading the QNB Stars League table with a match in hand, as their Qatar Derby against Al Arabi was postponed due to the AFC Champions League engagement against Al Hilal.</p><p>Al Sadd’s coaching staff, led by Spain and Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez, mainly focused on the technical and physical aspects of the players.</p><p>The training sessions witnessed strong participation of Asia’s best player and left-back Abdelkarim Hassan, who is regaining his fitness, among others.</p><p>Ahmed Al Kaf of Oman will officiate the match. His compatriots Abdullah Saeed and Omar Al Yaqoobi will be the assistant referees. Abdullah Ali will be the fourth official.</p><p>Al Sadd qualified for the quarterfinals by defeating Qatar’s Al Duhail. They reached the Round of 16 after topping Group D with 10 points.</p>