As the marathon Asian World Cup second round of qualifiers enters the home straight, it's the powerhouses of the region who are in sight of the finals in Japan and South Korea next year.

China, leaders in Group B by four points and with a game in hand, will guarantee a place in their first finals by beating Oman in Shenyang on Sunday.

It shouldn't be much of a problem for coach Bora Milutinovic and his men - Oman are at the foot of the table with just two points to show from five matches which have yielded just one goal.

Qatar are favourites to finish second behind China in the group and grab the play-off spot. They face the United Arab Emirates in Doha today before completing their programme in China on October 13th.

A victory for Qatar would put the pressure back on third-placed Uzbekistan who are two points behind the Gulf side.

The Uzbeks don't play this week - they travel to Oman on October 13th and finish their schedule with a home clash against China on October 19th.

Although Qatar, coached by Brazilian Paolo Campos, are in pole position for the play-off spot the UAE's Dutch coach Tini Ruijs is confident his side can still take second spot: "If China can defeat Qatar and we can win against Qatar in Doha, we still have a chance," he said.

In Group A, it's a battle between leaders Saudi Arabia, who have 11 points from six matches, and Iran, two points behind but with a game in hand.

The two sides drew 2-2 in Riyadh last week, a result which prompted Iran coach Miroslav Blasevic to confidently predict that it will be his men who will grab the automatic qualifying place.

Tomorrow will be crucial - Iran face Thailand in Tehran while the Saudis clash with Iraq on neutral territory in Amman.

"I promise that no other team, not even Saudi Arabia, will come first in our group," said Blasevic.