Al Hilal learn AFC Champions League Elite league-phase opponents for 2026-27

Al Hilal will begin their 2026-27 AFC Champions League Elite league-phase campaign at Kingdom Arena against Al Ain after Tuesday’s draw produced a schedule featuring three other clubs from the United Arab Emirates, as well as opposition from Qatar and Uzbekistan.

The Saudi Arabian side’s full fixture list has been confirmed under the competition’s new league-phase format, with four home matches and four away games.

Al Hilal’s league-phase fixtures

Al Hilal will open their campaign at Kingdom Arena against Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates.

Their second match will be away to Qatar’s Al Sadd, before they return home to face Shabab Al Ahli in the third round.

The fourth fixture is another away assignment, this time against Uzbekistani club Neftchi.

Al Hilal will then host Al Gharafa in round five, followed by an away match against Al Wasl in the sixth round.

The Saudi club’s seventh game will be at Kingdom Arena against Qatar’s Al Shamal, while the league phase will conclude with a trip to Uzbekistan to play Pakhtakor.

The schedule is therefore:

– Round one: Al Ain home, Kingdom Arena
– Round two: Al Sadd away
– Round three: Shabab Al Ahli home, Kingdom Arena
– Round four: Neftchi away
– Round five: Al Gharafa home, Kingdom Arena
– Round six: Al Wasl away
– Round seven: Al Shamal home, Kingdom Arena
– Round eight: Pakhtakor away

The draw is part of a revised competition structure for the AFC Champions League Elite, which divides the participating clubs in each geographical region into four balanced levels.

Under the new system, every club will play two matches against different opponents from each of the four levels. This produces a league-phase programme involving eight matches in total, with the fixtures split between home and away games.

Al Hilal’s draw has given them a varied programme across the region. Their opponents include Al Ain, Shabab Al Ahli and Al Wasl from the United Arab Emirates, Al Sadd, Al Gharafa and Al Shamal from Qatar, and Neftchi and Pakhtakor from Uzbekistan.

The format is intended to make the competition more intense while improving the balance of opportunity among all participating teams. Rather than facing the same opponents across a traditional group structure, clubs will meet different sides drawn from each of the four levels.

For Al Hilal, the campaign will begin and end with contrasting fixtures: a home meeting with Al Ain at Kingdom Arena in the opening round, followed by an away match against Pakhtakor in the eighth and final round of the league phase.