Chennai City face Bahrain's Al Riffa in AFC Champions League

Ahmedabad : Significantly weakened by the loss of star striker Pedro Manzi early this month, I-League champions Chennai City FC face Al Riffa SC of Bahrain in a preliminary round match of the AFC Champions League here on Tuesday.

The Coimbatore-based Chennai City will be making their first foray in the preliminary stage of the elite club competition of the continent by virtue of winning the I-League last season, in which Spanish hitman Manzi scored 21 goals to emerge as the top scorer of the competition.

Chennai City sold Manzi to Japanese club Albirex Nilgata for a tranfer fee reportedly touching Rs 1 crore, the highest earned by any Indian club ever for a single player's sale.

They have roped in 19-year-old striker Jan Uzangu from FC Basel, with whom they signed a partnership deal last year.

Uzangu, however, will not be available for Tuesday's match against Al Riffa at the Arena Stadium.

Al Riffa are one of the most successful clubs in Bahrain, having won the domestic top league 12 times.

They have played in the AFC Champions League group stage twice earlier -- in 1989 and 2004.

They have made four appearances in the AFC Cup with a semifinal appearance in 2010 being their best.