Defending champions Western Sydney Wanderers and Guangzhou Evergrande, winners of the last two editions of the AFC Champions League, will face off in the group stages of the 2015 Asian club competition.
The draw in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday saw Western Sydney and Guangzhou Evergrande joined in Group H by either 2007 winners Urawa Red Diamonds or Kashima Antlers -- depending on which of the J. League clubs emerge victorious in the Emperor's Cup. One of the four winners from the Eastern play-offs will complete the group.
Tony Popovic's side defeated Marcello Lippi's Guangzhou Evergrande in the quarterfinals of this year's AFC Champions League en route to becoming the first A-League club to win the title. Western Sydney, who achieved the distinction in their very first attempt in the competition, prevailed over Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al Hilal 1-0 on aggregate in the double-legged final.
"We had a great battle with Guangzhou last year, a big match in Parramatta Stadium and an exciting one in China and we look forward to continuing what could become a very healthy Asian rivalry between the two clubs," Western Sydney club representative Christian Layland told the official AFC website.
"Although we dealt with all the logistics of travelling around Asia very well last year, with experience you get a little bit better. So we'll certainly draw from everything we learnt from last time and put that into place in this year's competition. We have a very high standard of expectation within the club. We set those standards high last year, we expected to do well last year and wanted to be champions. And this year is no different; we want to repeat that performance."
Compatriots Brisbane Roar, who defeated Western Sydney in the 2014 A-League Grand Final, are in Group G and will take on Montedio Yamagata or Urawa, K-League Classic side Suwon Bluewings and a play-off winner.
K-League champions and 2006 winners Jeonbuk Hyundai will meet Chinese FA Cup holders Shandong Luneng and Vietnamese champions Becamex Binh Duong in Group E in addition to a team from the play-offs.
And in Group F, 2008 champions and J.League winners Gamba Osaka will face two-time Asian champions Seongnam FC, Thailand's Buriram United as well as a play-off winner.
In West Asia, last year's finalists Al Hilal will look to go one better starting with a Group C that includes Foolad Khouzestan from Iran as well as Uzbekistan's Lokomotiv Tashkent and one of four play-off winners from the region.
"I think we have a balanced group which is good for us," said Al Hilal board member and media officer Abdulkarim Al Jasser. "We had a lot of experience from last year and we will certainly qualify from the group.
"I think we will start strong this time because we still feel disappointed from the result of last year's final. This will encourage us to play strong from the beginning.
"We have a good team, a good coach and good players. We hope we will have good luck this year and we will be better than last year."
Defeated by Al Hilal in last year's semifinals, UAE heavyweights Al Ain have been drawn in Group B alongside Saudi Arabia's Al Shabab, Uzbek League champions Pakhtakor and a play-off winner.
Saudi champions Al Nassr return to the elite continental competition after a three-year absence and will be joined in Group A by Lekhwiya from Qatar and Iran's Persepolis as well as a team advancing from the play-offs.
Nasaf Qarshi of Uzbekistan are drawn in Group D that also comprises UAE's Al Ahli, Tractorazi Tabriz of Iran and the final play-off winner.
The eight outstanding places in the group stage of the AFC Champions League will be decided by the play-offs which take place over four rounds at the start of February with the first group stage matches set for Feb. 24 and 25.