With ten points from four matches in Group D, Al Qadsia have a three-point advantage over their Uzbek visitors with two matches to play.

And having already beaten Pakhtakor 1-0 in Tashkent in March, they would also have the advantage in head-to-head results if the game at the Mohammed Al Hamed Stadium ended in a stalemate.

However, Al Qadsia assistant coach Abdulaziz Hamada has insisted that his team will not just sit back and defend on Wednesday.

"We could qualify with a win or even a draw in this match but that doesn’t mean that we will play a defensive game on Wednesday," he said.

"In our previous matches we played with an attacking formation and we beat Pakhtakor and Al Gharafa.

"We may be playing against a tough team who want to win in order to maintain their chances of reaching the quarter-finals but we are in good spirits right now after beating our local rivals, Al Arabi, in the Emir’s Cup last Friday.

"We are close to reaching the Emir’s Cup final and hopefully we can beat Pakhtakor this week and qualify for the next stage of the AFC Champions League."

Al Qadsia, who have one foot in the Emir’s Cup final after a 2-0 win over Al Arabi in the first leg of the semi-finals, could be missing injured striker Bader Al Mutawa and Tunisian midfielder Selim Ben Achour, who has an ankle problem.

However, striker Ahmed Ajab is back in training after suffering a knock against Al Arabi while Ivory Coast midfielder Brahima Keita is available after being suspended for the 1-0 win against Al Gharafa two weeks ago.

Pakhtakor will be eager to avenge their opening loss to Al Qadsia as well as their elimination from the AFC Champions League two years ago, when they went out after being held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Kuwaiti side in their final group game.

Coach Ravshan Haydarov is confident of getting a result despite the likely absence of forward Akmal Holmatov, who picked up an injury during last weekend’s 3-0 win over Navbakhor in the Uzbek League.

"Our preparations for the match have gone according to plan although there is some concern about the injury suffered by Akmal Holmatov," said Haydarov.

"The team have found their form and we have begun to show greater confidence in our recent games in the Uzbek League and our two victories against Arbil in the AFC Champions League.

"The players are not afraid of anybody now and they are eager for revenge in our match against Al Qadsia", he said.