Quarter-final spots in the OFC Champions League 2020 will be up for grabs when Groups C and D get underway this weekend.
New Caledonia will host Group C, while Group D will be contested in Tahiti; matches will take place on March 1, 4 and 7.
Last week, New Zealand side Eastern Suburbs topped Group A and will host a knockout game, with Vanuatu’s Galaxy FC also qualifying.
In Group B, Vanuatu’s Malampa Revivors earned home advantage in the next round with Solomon Islands club the Henderson Eels finishing second.
The quarter-finals are scheduled to be played from April 4-5, the semifinals are due to be played between April 25-26, and the final is set down for May 16.
Group C
AS Magenta, last year’s beaten finalists, will host Group C in Nouméa and will be joined by Solomon Islands champions the Solomon Warriors, AS Tiare Tahiti, and Tupapa Maraerenga from the Cook Islands.
Tupapa had to come through the qualifying stage in Auckland last month to earn their spot in Group C.
The Solomon Warriors tumbled out of the OFC Champions League during the group stages last season.
Group D
Auckland City loom as a dominant force in Group D given the mixture of All Whites and seasoned veterans they have on their roster.
Last year’s semifinalists will meet qualifying stage winner Lupe Ole Soaga SC from Samoa, Tahiti’s AS Venus and Ba FC.
Venus won the 2018-2019 Tahiti Ligue 1 title and last qualified for the group stages of the OFC Champions League in 2018 but failed to get out of their group.
Ba will be coached by former All Whites mentor Ricki Herbert and the Fijians advanced to the quarter-finals of last year’s Champions League but lost 2-1 in extra-time to eventual winners Hienghène Sport.
For more information about the OFC Champions League 2020, including fixtures and points tables, click here.
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