Former Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane will be watching from the stands as his new side Esteghlal FC faces Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in the Asian Champions League at Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Tuesday (18:00).

Mosimane, recently appointed to the role, arrived in Dubai ahead of the match alongside his technical team, including video analyst Musi Matlaba, Kabelo Rangoaga, Mahier Davids, and Kyle Solomon.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach has been unemployed since leaving Abha in June following their relegation to the second division in Saudi Arabia.

Esteghlal, currently 11th in the Persian Gulf, take on Al Nassr on Tuesday for an AFC Champions League Elite league stage match. They suffered their first competition loss of the campaign in their previous match against Al Sadd, losing 2-0 away.

Nassr, on the other hand, secured their first competition win of the season in their last match, defeating Al Rayyan 2-1 at home. In their previous meeting in May 2011, Esteghlal emerged victorious with a 2-1 win.

Esteghlal’s Ramin Rezaeian and Arash Rezavand are the team’s joint top scorers in the AFC Champions League Elite play with one goal each. Sultan Al Ghannam, Sadio Mané, and Cristiano Ronaldo lead Al Nassr’s scoring charts in the competition with one goal each.

The visitors have scored in 24 consecutive matches across all competitions, netting in every match since their AFC Champions League Elite meeting with Al Ain in March. Esteghlal, meanwhile, have won their only previous AFC Champions League Elite home contest this season.

Nassr have played out a draw in their only previous away contest in the competition this season and will be aiming to extend their 11-match unbeaten away streak in all competitions.

In their last six matches in all competitions, Esteghlal have won two, drawn one, and lost three, scoring seven and conceding nine. They scored first in two of the six contests and had three first-half goals, while their opponents netted two times in the first 45 minutes.

Nassr, on the other hand, have won all of their last six matches, scoring 14 and conceding three. They netted first in all six contests and had six goals in the first half, while their opponents failed to score before the break.

As Mosimane will miss this match, he will be hoping to be in the dugout when Esteghlal visit Kheybar Khorramabad at Takhti Stadium on Saturday.