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BARCELONA — Real Madrid head to Manchester City for Tuesday's first leg of their Champions League semifinal with one major concern: the fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Both star strikers, who have scored 74 goals between them this season, are nursing right-leg injuries.

Ronaldo strained a muscle in a win over Villarreal on Wednesday, ruling him out of Saturday's match at Rayo Vallecano — that Benzema exited before halftime with a leg injury of his own.

Coach Zinedine Zidane said that Ronaldo, who trained on Sunday, will travel with the squad to England. Benzema is a bigger worry for the former France great.

"We're going to assess Benzema," Zidane said after Saturday's match. "All I can say is that it's not a knock. I hope that it's nothing serious and that he'll be available for Tuesday."

While fitness is the focus for Madrid, crosstown rival Atletico Madrid is preparing their defence to handle Bayern Munich's impressive attack in Wednesday's other semifinal.

Here is a closer look at this week's Champions League matches:

Manchester City-Real Madrid

The 10-time champions have already found their savior in case Ronaldo and Benzema have not fully recovered to face City.

Gareth Bale rose to the occasion when both his strike partners were out on Saturday, scoring two goals to lead a 3-2 comeback victory at Rayo that kept Madrid in the fight for the Spanish league title.

For Bale, Madrid has the "psychological" advantage of playing the second leg back in Spain.

"If we get a good result in the Etihad Stadium, back at the Bernabeu our fans are always going to help us," Bale said. "As long as we don't lose there, we'll be very confident at the Bernabeu."

Under former Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini, City is in fine form domestically in April. Besides a draw against lowly Newcastle, high-scoring wins — 3-0 over Chelsea and a 4-0 rout of Stoke on Saturday — are a reminder of City at its best.

Kevin de Bruyne has been the inspiration behind the revival, as a dynamo in midfielder since returning after two months out. The Belgian was rested against Stoke in preparation for Madrid.

"Now almost everybody is back and it gives us a different feeling," De Bruyne said.

Atletico Madrid-Bayern Munich

The match at Vicente Calderon Stadium promises to be an intriguing clash of styles between two of the game's most respected managers.

While Pep Guardiola has remade Bayern on the model of his attractive Barcelona sides, Diego Simeone has forged Atletico into one of the best defensive teams in Europe and has it on the cusp of a second final in three years.

Atletico have already proved strong enough to suffocate Barcelona's trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar in the last round.

Goalie Jan Oblak anchors a defence that has kept seven clean sheets in 10 Champions League matches, in addition to 22 clean sheets in 35 rounds of the Spanish league — keeping it level on points with leader Barcelona with three matches left.

Atletico will likely be without injured centreback Diego Godin. That leaves youngsters Jose Gimenez and Lucas Hernandez to hold down its back line against Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller's combined 16 goals in the competition.

"The tie against Bayern is going to be as hard or harder than the one against Barcelona," Gimenez said. "They have different weapons, but play a similar kind of football. We hope that they don't have a good night and we can get a good result."

In their only prior meeting, Bayern needed a replay to beat Atletico in the 1974 final for their first of five European Cups.

One win away from clinching a third Bundesliga title in as many years under Guardiola, Bayern is focused winning the Champions League to cap the Catalan manager's last season in charge before taking over at City next season.

AMMAN – Jordan's Faisali will seek to come out triumphant and advance while compatriots Wihdat have a tougher task in Tuesday's Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup matches

 Wihdat will play Bahrain's Hidd and await other group matches to try to secure one of two qualifying slots from Group A as they are third after they managed only a 0-0 draw with  Turkmenistan's Altyn Asyr. The Jordanian league champs started off the competitions with unstable performances that saw them hold the Turkmen team 1-1 lose 3-2 to Lebanon's Al Ahd after their opening 2-0 win over Bahrain's Hidd.

Wihdat team officials urged the team to put local league results behind and focus on the next match. Wihdat were held 0-0 with Ramtha this week, putting them under pressure to win their last match against Jazira to retain the title as they are being chased by Faisali and Ahli close behind.

"We need to give it our best and play for a big win," Wihdat's Ziyad Shilbayeh told the team ahead of departure. "We need to work as one to win locally and regionally," he added.

 Faisali on the other hand are second in Group B ahead of their match against Turkmenistan's Istiklol Dushanbe. In their last match, they beat Lebanon's Tripoli 3-1. In Leg 1, they held Tripoli 1-1, beat Iraq's Naft Al Wasat 2-1 after their opening  0-0 draw with Dushanbe. 

Coach Rateb Awadat noted the team had the opportunity to make local and regional history this season. He urged the team to make use of the home game advantage and advance from the group. Faisali have improved in their last league matches and are now two points behind leaders Wihdat ahead of their match against Baqa'a.

BEIJING –– Since Guangzhou Evergrande started the new wave of spending in Chinese football in 2010, the club have enjoyed constant success — until now.

The title-holders were last week dumped out of the Asian Champions League with a game still remaining in the group stage.

Guangzhou have spent over $200 million on players and coaches in the past five years including almost $50 million in January on Colombian striker Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid.

The club has not only won the past five Chinese Super League titles, it has, under World Cup winning managers Marcello Lippi and Luiz Felipe Scolari, won two of the past three continental crowns.

Two points from the first four group games this season meant that the 2-0 midweek win at South Korea’s Pohang Steelers could not prevent the early exit. For the first time since arriving to China in June 2015, Scolari finds himself under pressure from the media.

“It has been a difficult week for us,” Scolari admitted on Saturday. “We obviously had ambitions in Asia but now we have to focus on winning the Chinese Super League. The standard are getting higher and we face a challenge every week.”

Guangzhou are going well in the domestic league and captain and two-time Asian Player of the Year Zheng Zhi has wants to ensure that Guangzhou qualify for next year’s Champions League.

“Unfortunately, we failed to get to the second round for many reasons,” said Zheng. “We now have to face the reality and start thinking about the league and FA Cup. We want to be champions and then get into Asia once again.”

Guangzhou have long identified its stature with Asian success. In their four previous appearances, the club reached the semifinal and quarterfinal as well as its two wins.

In December, then Guangzhou president Liu Yongzhou told The Associated Press how important the competition is to the club.

“For Guangzhou, we have won the trophy two times now and it is important for the club to win it again and make it three,” said Liu. “We will do everything we can to defend the trophy we won.”

Liu was relieved of his duties earlier this month partly, according to Chinese media speculation, because of the poor results in Asia.

To makes matter worse, Guangzhou has had to watch as domestic rival Shanghai SIPG progressed to the second round, helped by two of Guangzhou’s former stars.

In January, Guangzhou surprisingly sold striker Elkeson for around $22 million to the 2015 Chinese Super League runner-up.

The Brazilian scored 16 goals in the Asian Champions League in 26 starts in three successful seasons with Guangzhou, including the only goal of the 2015 final.

The more expensive Martinez has yet to score in Asia. It has not gone unnoticed by Guangzhou fans that Elkeson scored his fourth goal of the current continental competition on Tuesday to help Shanghai win and progress to the second round with a game to spare.

“He [Elkeson] is a top-class striker and scores consistently,” said Shanghai manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was delighted at securing a place in the last 16.

“Last year Shanghai were dreaming about winning the AFC Champions League title and up till now we’ve been doing pretty good. Everyone at the club and all the fans are all very happy.”

Dario Conca, who starred for Guangzhou in its 2013 Asian triumph before returning to South America and then signing with Shanghai, also scored.

Perhaps almost as pleasing for Eriksson is that he has often ended up as second best in past meetings with Scolari. The Brazilian knocked Eriksson’s England out of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and the 2004 European Championships, all at the quarterfinal stage.

Scolari also triumphed in the 2015 Chinese Super League, finishing first above Eriksson’s Shanghai in second.

Shanghai felt they should have taken the title instead. With six games remaining Eriksson’s team was top but never recovered from losing 3-0 at home to Guangzhou with Elkeson getting among the goals.

BARCELONA – Luis Suarez became the first La Liga player to score four goals for the second game in a row as Barcelona, helped by three penalties in the second half, stayed top by hammering Sporting Gijon 6-0 on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Gareth Bale made up for the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring twice as Real Madrid came back from two goals down to win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano, while Atletico Madrid kept up their title hopes with a 1-0 home victory over Malaga.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone could be facing a three-game touchline ban after being sent off at halftime when a ball was thrown on to the pitch from the technical area.

Suarez moved ahead of Ronaldo as the league’s top scorer on 34 goals after netting four times, twice with penalties, in the space of 25 second-half minutes.

Sporting had defender Ognjen Vranjes sent off in the 85th minute after picking up a second booking for fouling Neymar who scored the subsequent spot kick

The league leaders and Atletico have 82 points, with Barca top because of a superior head-to-head record. Real are third on 81 points with three games remaining.

Lionel Messi’s stooping header put Barca ahead on 12 minutes but Gijon, who are third from bottom, missed two chances to equalise before halftime.

Suarez eased Barca nerves by tapping home Andres Iniesta’s low cross in the 63rd minute before converting twice from the spot.

The prolific Uruguayan, who also scored four times and provided three assists in Wednesday’s 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna, grabbed another goal in the 88th minute, drilling in a pass from Messi.

DALLAS — The testy first-round series between regional rivals Oklahoma City and Dallas got a little testier as the Thunder took a 3-1 series lead with a 119-108 win on Saturday.

Kevin Durant got ejected, Russell Westbrook was part of a shouting match in front of his bench and Serge Ibaka drew a technical for throwing an elbow in the final seconds with the result decided.

Going into Game 5 on Monday night in Oklahoma City, Durant, who was given a technical foul a day after Game 3, doesn’t think things are getting out of hand despite several tense moments that included Dallas team security making sure he didn’t leave the court in front of the Mavericks bench after his ejection.

“I don’t believe they’re trying to hurt us, and we’re not trying to hurt them,” Durant said, also emphasising that he wasn’t trying to hurt Justin Anderson when he swung his arm across the Dallas guard’s head. “We’re going to do some talking. We’re going to do some shoving here and there because that’s how competitive both teams are.”

After Dallas coach Rick Carlisle called out Durant while complaining during the off day over what he essentially said were dirty plays by the Thunder in Game 3, the teams had a confrontation in front of the Oklahoma City bench early in the second quarter. 

That flare-up started when Anthony Morrow, sitting on the bench, refused to give the ball to Salah Mejri after the Thunder threw it out of bounds.

Dallas guard J.J. Barea confronted Morrow, a former Maverick who then shoved Barea. Westbrook and Mejri ended up nose-to-nose in a shouting match before all the players were separated by coaches and officials.

Westbrook and Mejri got double technicals, and the Thunder were called for delay of game.

In the second half, Westbrook appeared to shout an expletive towards the fans after getting tangled up with Mejri on a drive. Mejri, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a right hip injury, was called for a foul.

Durant’s hard foul on Anderson came with 50 seconds left. And 30 seconds later, Ibaka got a technical for throwing an elbow at Charlie Villanueva.

“The name of the game is come out and play basketball and that’s what we’ve done the last two games, especially here,” Westbrook said. “We know a lot of their game is to kind of muck up the game and I think we’re doing a great job of staying above it.”

Besides calling out Durant during the off day for the elbow that led to the NBA’s technical foul on Friday, Carlisle said there were three other “non-basketball physical escalations that were initiated by them”.

LONDON — Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho is being investigated by UEFA over a failed drugs test after last month's Europa League game against Manchester United.

Although Sakho is not yet subject to a UEFA suspension, the club announced on Saturday that he will not play for the Europa League semifinalists while the investigation is under way.

Sakho scored one of the goals in Liverpool's 4-3 quarter-final victory last week over Borussia Dortmund to set up a semifinal meeting with Villarreal.

A fat-burning substance was detected in a drugs test taken after Liverpool's round of 16 game at Premier League rival United on March 17, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, with Sakho yet to ask for his backup sample to be tested.

Sakho has until Tuesday to respond to UEFA, whose website made no mention of the drugs investigation in its disciplinary section.

Liverpool was only informed by UEFA on Friday of the investigation. Discussions between the Fenway Sports Group ownership, led by John Henry, manager Juergen Klopp and Sakho led to the decision to remove the player from consideration for selection.

"A formal communication was received from UEFA stating that they are investigating a possible anti-doping rule violation by Mamadou Sakho," Liverpool said in a statement. "The player will respond to UEFA on the matter.”

"The player is currently not subject to any playing suspension. However, the club, in consultation with the player, has decided that while this process is followed the player will not be available for selection for matches."

Sakho was replaced in the team for Saturday's Premier League game against Newcastle by Kolo Toure, who was banned for six months by the English Football Association in 2011 while playing for Manchester City for taking banned water tablets to control his weight.

If Sakho received the same length ban as Toure it would rule him out of the June 10-July 11 European Championship on home soil in France. The sanction would be imposed by European football's governing body because the test was taken after a UEFA game.

That would be another potential blow for France coach Didier Deschamps, who will already be without star striker Karim Benzema — due to Benzema's involvement in a sex-tape scandal involving his France teammate Mathieu Valbuena.

Although Sakho is not guaranteed to start for France at Euro 2016, he would normally be a certainty to be named in Deschamps' squad on May 12 and would be fighting for a centre back place alongside either Rafael Varane or Laurent Koscielny.

With 28 caps, Sakho is an established squad member and popular among the players. Deschamps, who is known for his loyalty, will always be indebted to Sakho for his two goals in a 3-0 win against Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier in November 2013 — sending France to the World Cup.

LONDON — Three of the four managers leading their teams out at Wembley for this weekend’s FA Cup semifinals will do so knowing defeat could have serious ramifications for their short-term future.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has been dealing with so-called “must-win” games throughout a troubled season and Saturday’s clash with Everton falls into that category.

Everton boss Roberto Martinez, meanwhile, has fallen out of favour with a large section of the club’s fans who have seen no tangible progress this season.

Crystal Palace’s woeful form since Christmas has turned up the heat on Alan Pardew too, although a semifinal against Watford represents an opportunity for redemption.

Watford manager Quique Florez is perhaps the odd man out.

The Spaniard has made an impressive impact in his first season at the club who were promoted last season, guaranteeing survival with plenty to spare.

Dutchman Van Gaal has faced a ceaseless debate about his Old Trafford future after crashing out of the Champions League group stages and serving up some turgid football earlier in the season when United fell out of the title race.

He has soldiered on, however, and a silver lining is on the horizon with United favourites to lift the trophy for the first time since 2004 after beating West Ham United 2-1 in a quarter-final replay last week with their best display of the season.

Even if he does achieve that, there is no guarantee that he will see out the final season of his contract as a top-four finish in the Premier League was his first priority.

But having won trophies everywhere in his long coaching career, he would at least be able to hold his head high.

“I have said for the club it is much more important that we are finishing in the first four positions because the Champions League is the highest level,” he said.

“But a trophy is of course fantastic, especially the FA Cup, as it is a lot of years that we didn’t win it.

“There is a big arousal among the fans. It is nice to see they are hungry to get the FA Cup, but still we have to beat Everton first.”

Martinez won the FA Cup with modest Wigan Athletic in 2013 when they beat Manchester City in the final a few weeks before being relegated, securing his move to Everton.

But after finishing fifth in his first season, the club finished 11th last term and, despite a squad full of flair players, were 12th going into Wednesday’s derby with Liverpool.

“If we win the games, everything will be fine; if we lose, everything will be my fault,” Martinez said this week.

Pardew was part of the Palace side that reached the 1990 final and his return to the club as manager in January 2015 turned the club from relegation candidates to contenders for Europe midway through the current campaign.

Palace have stalled since, however, and Pardew hopes the FA Cup can re-ignite his squad.

“For us and Watford, one of us is going to hurt and one’s really going to come alive. So we really want to be that team that comes alive,” he said.

Shooting better than 55 per cent for the second consecutive game, the Miami Heat defeated the Charlotte Hornets 115-103 in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday.

After a franchise play-off-best first half of shooting, the Heat held on in the second half to protect home-court advantage and go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, which continues with Game 3 on Saturday in Charlotte.

The Hornets cut an 18-point deficit in the third quarter to seven with under four minutes to play, but the Heat clamped down defensively and Dwyane Wade, who led Miami with 28 points and eight assists, hit two key baskets late.

Hassan Whiteside scored 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field and Luol Deng had 16 points. They were two of five Heat players to finish in double figures as they shot 57.9 per cent from the floor.

Whiteside added 13 rebounds and two blocks, and Goran Dragic pitched in 18 points and Josh Richardson scored 15.

While the Heat were 9 of 16 from 3-point range, the Hornets hit just 1 of 16 from beyond the arc.

Kemba Walker had a game-high 29 points and Al Jefferson scored 25 on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor for the Hornets.

Countering the success of Walker and Jefferson, Marvin Williams missed all 10 of his shots from the floor to finish scoreless.

Nicolas Batum had nine points and seven rebounds but left early in the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle and did not return.

Miami took a 72-60 lead into half-time thanks to shooting a franchise play-off-best 74.4 per cent from the field in the first half, including 7 of 10 on 3-pointers while converting its final 10 shots from the floor in the first half.

Dragic hit all three of his first-half 3-point attempts.

Jefferson, with 16 points in the second quarter, kept the Hornets in it with a flurry of baskets from the low post and mid-range, at one point converting eight of Charlotte’s last nine field goals made.

The Heat matched their Game 1 turnover total of six in the first quarter alone but shot 65 per cent from the field in the quarter as the teams were tied at 29 through one.

Cavaliers tie three-point record

LeBron James scored 27 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers tied an NBA play-off record with 20 3-pointers in a 107-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday in Game 2 of an NBA Western Conference play-off series.

The Cavaliers lead the series 2-0 with Game 3 on Friday night at Detroit.

The Cavs struggled to put away the Pistons in Game 1 and struggled again until late in the third quarter.

They trailed by 10 points early and still were behind midway through the third quarter before a Kevin Love 3-pointer gave Cleveland the lead for good at 63-62.

Love’s basket started a flurry of five 3-pointers in the final 6:49 of the quarter.

J.R. Smith’s 3-pointer in the final minute of the third — his seventh of the game — extended the lead to 82-68 entering the fourth quarter and the Cavs coasted from there.

The 20 3-pointers were more than the Cavs made in any game during the regular season and made them the fourth team to hit 20 in a postseason game. The most recent was the Golden State Warriors last year.

Smith scored 21 points (all on 3-pointers) and Kyrie Irving had 22 points and four assists, including 13 in the first quarter. Love finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds after fighting early foul trouble.

Andre Drummond had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Pistons.

Reggie Jackson contributed 14 points and six assists, although he managed just one basket in the second half. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 13 points.

After Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy was fined $25,000 for complaining about the officiating during Game 1, the calls certainly seemed to favour the Pistons.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert tweeted at half-time about the free throw disparity. The Pistons shot 20 free throws in the first half compared with one for the Cavs.

Cleveland shot 14 in the game and the Pistons shot 32. The Cavs didn’t need free throws on a night they made 20 of 38 3-pointers.

Clippers roll

Chris Paul scored 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rolled to a 102-81 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers to take a 2-0 edge in their Western Conference quarter-final series on Wednesday.

J.J. Redick scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half for Los Angeles, while Blake Griffin added 12 points and nine rebounds. DeAndre Jordan collected 18 rebounds but scored only three points.

Damian Lillard and Mason Plumlee had 17 points apiece, and CJ McCollum chipped in 16 points for the Trail Blazers. Plumlee also had 10 rebounds. Maurice Harkless contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.

Game 3 is on Saturday in Portland.

Los Angeles posted double-digit leads throughout the contest, but each time Portland wiped them out until the final quarter, when the Clippers pulled away for their fifth consecutive decision over the Blazers.

A finger roll by Jamal Crawford, who finished with 11 points, capped an 11-2 run for a 78-63 edge with 8:03 left in the contest. The Clippers never allowed the lead to reach single digits again.

In the third quarter, the Blazers got down by as much as 12 after a basket by Paul less than three minutes into the period.

However, an 11-2 surge pulled the Trail Blazers within 59-56 after a McCollum jumper with 4:58 left in the third.

The teams played pretty much even the rest of the quarter, with the Clippers taking a 67-61 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Clippers led by as much as 15 in the second quarter before the Trail Blazers rallied and closed the gap to 47-43 at the break.

Portland was able to wipe out the deficit despite shooting only 34 per cent in the first half, including 38.1 per cent in the second quarter.

Los Angeles shot 42.2 per cent in the first half and 47.8 per cent in the second quarter.

Both clubs struggled in the third quarter, with the Blazers making only 25 per cent of their shots to 37.5 per cent for the Clippers.

For the game, the Clippers hit 46 per cent of their shots to 34.1 per cent for the Blazers.

The Clippers’ bench also outscored the Blazers’ reserves 43-10.

Atlanta and San Antonio took imposing 2-0 leads in their opening-round play-off series with emphatic victories over Boston and Memphis on Tuesday.

The Hawks held the Celtics to the lowest-scoring first quarter in the play-offs since the NBA went to the shot clock, building a 21-point lead and holding on despite an ugly shooting performance of their own for an 89-72 victory and a strong hold on their Eastern Conference series.

Al Horford and Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 17 points apiece, but this game was essentially decided in the first 12 minutes.

The Hawks started 9 of 13 from the field, knocking down six from beyond the 3-point arc. Korver made four from long range, a big turnaround from a 1-of-10 performance in Game 1 that didn’t include any 3s. Atlanta led 24-3 just 6 1-2 minutes into the game.

Even after failing to score the rest of the period, the Hawks still led 24-7 heading to the second.

Shaking off a dismal performance in the play-off opener, Korver swished four 3-pointers in the opening minutes to propel Atlanta to a stunning 21-point lead before many fans had settled into their seats Tuesday night. There wasn’t much doubt after that.

“We all have pride, right?” said Korver, who went 1 of 10 on Saturday and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts. “I wanted to come out and play better the second game.”

As good as Korver and the Hawks were in the early going, this one will be remembered more for the Celtics’ grisly start.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Boston’s Jae Crowder, looking a bit shell-shocked after scoring just two points on 1-of-9 shooting, “but we’ve got to change something”.

Crowder had plenty of company in his shooting misery.

Boston star Isaiah Thomas was held to 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting, going 1 of 6 beyond the arc. Marcus Smart stepped in for the injured Avery Bradley and went 1 of 11, also making just 1 of 6 from 3-point range. The Celtics finished at 32 per cent overall (28 of 88), 5 of 28 from long range.

Game 3 is Friday night in Boston.

San Antonio were even more impressive than the Hawks in beating the Grizzlies 94-68. Patty Mills had 16 points, Kawhi Leonard added 13 and San Antonio never trailed in sweeping the first two games.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 10 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes. Aldridge sat out the entire fourth quarter along with Leonard and Tony Parker while Tim Duncan and Danny Green made brief appearances.

If history and Memphis’ current state are any indication, the Grizzlies’ prospects don’t look good heading into a home game Friday night.

San Antonio’s suffocating defence held Memphis to franchise lows in total points and points in a quarter.

Tony Allen led Memphis with 12 points and Zach Randolph had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

AMMAN — Jordan Motorsport has unveiled a quality line-up of drivers for the Jordan Rally, the third round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship from May 5-7, according to a statement from the Jordan Rally Media Service.

The current crop of contenders are all confirmed, with 11-time regional driving champion Nasser Al Attiyah leading the line and out to prove that he has plenty left in the tank after more than a decade of domination.

The Qatari Skoda driver will be joined in Jordan by several compatriots, including second seed Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Khalid Al Suwaidi and Rashed Al Nuami.

Jordan’s charge will be led by 2014 national champion Husam Salem, who finished third last year, and reigning national champion Khaled Juma.

There will also be drivers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon and Turkey along with co-drivers from France, Ireland, Poland, Cyprus and Finland to bring a truly international flavour to the event.

“We are looking forward to hosting a top class rally,” Jordan Motorsport CEO Othman Nassif and chairman of the Organising Committee was quoted as saying in the statement. “Nasser will undoubtedly start as favourite but it will be interesting to see how close the other regional and local drivers can push him.”

The Jordan Rally gets under way with a special spectator event on the afternoon of May 5, followed by two days of exhilarating action on some of the best routes in the rallying world.