Two top football clubs Bashundhara Kings vs Maziya will face off in the 2021 AFC Cup opening group stage match at Male National Stadium, Maldives, Wednesday.
Placed in Group D, Bashundhara Kings vs Maziya, AFC Cup group stage matches, Asia's second tier club football competition, are usually played in a home and away format. However in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, all 2021 edition group matches will be played in Male.
Group winners will advance to the semi-finals between zones.
The Bashundhara Kings made it to the last 16 of the AFC Cup in 2016 while Maziya became the first team from India to reach the final that season.
Maziya also reached the interzone play-off final in 2017 and the interzone semifinal in 2018.
History, however, will count for very little when the two teams meet on Wednesday.
Maziya holds the lead ahead of the 2021 AFC Cup with the team retaining the high scoring duo of Roy Krishna and David Williams.
Coupled with their recent acquisitions of influential Hugo Boumous and Carl McHugh, the Marines look like the team to beat.
Although Antonio Habas' side will be missing defender Sandesh Jhingan - who is close to joining Croatian top flight side HNK ibenik - the competition will be an opportunity for Pritam Kotal and Sumit Rathi to shine.
Maziya, meanwhile, has been under new coach Marco Pezzaiuoli this season and won 1-0 against Club Eagles in the 2021 AFC Cup play-offs.