Hopes of a third Asian title plus a second appearance at the FIFA Club World Cup will be all the motivation Al Ittihad need when the Saudi champions travel to Japan to take on Nagoya Grampus in Wednesday's semi-final second leg of this year's AFC Champions League.

Actually, the Jeddah giants, who routed Grampus 6-2 at home last week, are expected to make light work of their foes in the re-match and progress to their third continental final. But to safely leverage their four-goal cushion and secure victory, coach Gabriel Calderon's men must not underestimate the danger posed by the hosts, who showed how resilient they can be when they stunned the likes of Suwon Bluewings of Korea Republic and fellow J.League participants Kawasaki Frontale en route to the last four.

The same can be said of Qatari side Umm-Salal, who will stop at nothing at home in their bid to upset Pohang Steelers, having lost in the first leg by a score of 2-0. The in-form visitors, though, will surely seek to capitalise on their clear physical edge and disciplined play as they hope to go through. Join FIFA.com as we take a closer look.

The match
Umm-Salal (QAT) - Pohang Steelers (KOR)
With Al Ittihad having placed one foot in the final thanks to their four-goal cushion, the question is whether Umm-Salal can overturn the two-goal deficit against Pohang and continue their journey as the tournament surprise package. French coach Gerard Gili vows to attack and press for goals, but overly ambitious offensive tactics have the potential to leave his side with dangerous holes that could be exploited by their Korean opposition.

Despite the difficulties, the hosts know all too well that anything fewer than three goals would be meaningless, with a place in the final on the line. If they manage to reproduce the form that enabled them to eliminate FC Seoul in the quarter-final match, the Qataris can raise eyebrows once more. But the two-goal margin will likely enable the visitors to go into the meeting with a mental edge and indeed, given that they are coached by the determined Sergio Farias and spearheaded by a proven striker in Denilson, it is the visitors that look to be the clear favorites to progress.

The other headliner
Nagoya Grampus (JPN) - Al Ittihad (KSA)
By any standard, the task of overturning a four-goal margin against Al Ittihad is a mountain to climb. For hosts Nagoya Grampus, the challenge is compounded due to the suspension of central-back Akira Takeuchi following his sixth-minute dismissal in the last game against the Saudi side. And their recent performance on the domestic front has left something to be desired, with Grampus managing to obtain merely a point from four J.League matches.

Having said that, Grampus coach Dragon Stojkovic has made it clear that his side will not give up without a fight and will strive to pull off an upset. The experienced Saudis, for their part, have been warned not to get too carried away by their captain Mohammed Noor, the hat-trick hero of the first leg who has aspirations of securing his third Asian laurels with Al Ittihad.

Player to watch
Despite having joined Umm-Salal just last year, Brazilian forward Magno Alves has shown that when he performs well, the team often does as well. The 33-year-old scored a brace against FC Seoul to help his side book a place in the last four. However, he looked to be a shadow of his normal self against Pohang as his side went down 2-0. Should he rediscover his scoring form, he will definitely cause big headaches for the Korean side.

What they said
"We are going to do our best and give our all in the second game and that is all we can do. We must put more effort into attack in order to get the result we need. Even a small chance is a chance," Umm-Salal head coach Gerard Gili

2009 AFC Champions League semi-final second leg fixtures:
28 October
Nagoya Grampus (JPN) - Al Ittihad (KSA)
Umm-Salal (QAT) - Pohang Steelers (KOR)