Having seen his side begin their campaign in Group C with draws against former champions Al Sadd and Uzbek side Lokomotiv, Skocic will have a stern test to keep their unblemished continental record alive with the arrival of the 2014 runners-up still smarting from a narrow defeat to Al Sadd a fortnight ago.

And while Skocic is boosted by the return of players for selection following military service, their lack of time on the training pitch with their teammates means they will be omitted from selection to face the expensively-assembled Al Hilal side.

“We will have a tough match against one of the best teams in Asia. Everyone knows that Al Hilal is a very strong team with many good players but we will try our best to seize all three points,” said Skocic, who had a spell in charge of Al Hilal’s Riyadh rival Al Nassr in 2011 (pictured).

“They have two different teams in the Saudi Arabian League and AFC Champions League while we have a limited squad. Some of our players have been suspended during the last six months due to military service issues. Those players are now back but it doesn’t seem logical to use players who have not been in training for four to six months.

“We will play against Al Hilal with a lot of motivation and I believe with the support of the fans, we will have a good performance. Al Hilal is a rich club who has invested a lot of money to hire big international players. My players usually have a lot of incentives against big teams so hopefully we can get a good result.”

Al Hilal coach Giorgos Donis, meanwhile, is hoping his side can rebound from their defeat to Al Sadd in Matchday Two with a much improved performance against Foolad.

Former Greece international Donis had only been installed days before the tie with Al Sadd and saw his new side fail to build on their 3-1 opening day victory against Lokomotiv of Uzbekistan as Al Hilal suffered a 1-0 loss in Doha.

“This will be a difficult match for us but we need the three points and I hope my players have a good day and a good performance,” said Donis.

“We have analysed Foolad’s last five or six games and have a lot of respect for the Iranian side. I need my players to focus on this match because otherwise we will have a problem in this group.

“As you know I've just started working with Al Hilal and I hope the players help me to have a good result against Foolad. We have a couple of injured players who have just returned to training. We are waiting for the last word of the team’s medics on whether we can use them.”

A certain absentee in Al Hilal’s ranks will be injured Saudi Arabia international Nawaf Al Abed who has yet to play in the 2015 AFC Champions League, despite starting in last year’s final.