90+2 min: Thiago Neves, who has run his socks off all evening, comes off suffering from cramp (he’s back on soon enough). The Brazilian has shown enough to suggest he’ll be the one to watch next week though.

90+1 min: Chance! A real chance. Al-Dawsari should score but Covic stands tall and repels the Saudi’s effort! And then he collects a dangerous cross into the six-yard box at the feet of an Al-Hilal player! Superb stuff from the veteran.

89 min: Juric and Saba have been highly impressive since their introductions. Four minutes of added time to play.

88 min: Thiago Neves looks to have sprung the offside trap as the races onto a long ball forward but Covic is off his line like a whippet to dive at the Brazilian’s feet and claim the ball. Not long to go now.

87 min: Lovely stuff from Saba in the middle of the pitch. The Brazilian drops his shoulder a couple of times to shake off his man and retain possession. That’s exactly what was missing during the first half, indeed the first hour of the game. That said, Al-Hilal are fatigued, and it’s a lot easier when the opposition are knackered.

85 min: Oooh! Like Juric before him, Saba has immediate impact. He lofts a deep free-kick over to the back stick where Spiranovic is lurking with a goalbound volley that is well blocked by goalkeeper Al-Sdairy.

83 min: Vitor Saba comes on as Wanderers show off their impressive strength from the bench.

81 min: Impressive scenes as the entire stadium does the Poznan and some Wanderers fans may well be pleased they miss what happens next – Al-Zori is put through in acres of space down the left-hand side of the box. He has options but his cross in is awfully overhit and Al-Dawsari can only glance a header away from danger, with the goal at his mercy. And they look again.

78 min: Time now for an Al-Hilal change – and not before time, given their evidently tiring legs – as Al-Abid comes on for Al-Faraj.

74 min: Thiago Neves is shown yellow before Wanderers make a second change. Spiranovic is on, for the first time this season, for Poljak. And the official attendance is announced: 20,053, which is a record for this ground. It’s all happening.

72 min: Juric off the post! Al-Hilal don’t know how to deal with him! The Wanderers striker goes it alone before sidefooting an effort that cannons off the base of the upright back out and away to safety.

69 min: Hamill is lucky (very lucky, it appears) not to be penalised for hand ball in the box as the referee turns a blind eye. Al-Shamrani fires the loose ball over the bar and the Saudis’ frustration continues.

67 min: And all of a sudden, it’s the Saudis who look really rattled. Al-Shamrani shows it by squaring up to Covic (for no particular reason) before down at the other end, Wanderers win another corner. It’s punched behind by Al-Sdairy who, when given a second bite of the cherry on the next delivery, catches it cleanly. But this looks good for Wanderers. If they can snatch another... well, we can dare to dream, can’t we?

64 min: Well, who would have thought it? Wanderers have been pretty dour until then. Credit to Popovic for the timing of the substitution, mind. And credit to Juric for his clever run into the box. And to Golec for what was a wonderful delivery.

61 min: Juric makes an immediate impression, using his physicality to win a free-kick right on the edge of the Al-Hilal ‘D’… danger here... no, not in the end. Cole hammers the ball straight into the visitors’ wall.

58 min: Thiago Neves again pulls the strings for Al-Hilal with a dangerous ball into the box – it’s cleared - but it’s not all doom and gloom for Wanderers… Tomi Juric is coming on! The poor boy, he seems to be carrying the weight of Wanderers’ hopes all of a sudden. But anyway, he’s got over half-an-hour to make a difference. Santalab is the man to make way.

54 min: Thiago Neves tries a bender from the edge of the box. It’s weakly struck though and rolls tamely through to Covic. But that attack came about because Cole lost possession all too easily in his own half. Still the Saudis are pressing when not in possession and that’s what the Wanderers are finding difficult to cope with tonight.

52 min: Cole again finds himself at the centre of the action as he follows through on goalkeeper Al-Sdairy, who reacts by fronting up, nothing more. Still, the Saudi player goes into the book. Cole asks for a penalty, but that’s just ridiculous. Fortunately, the referee agrees.

50 min: The crowd voice their discontent as Cole is pulled up for a trip on Al-Faraj and play is brought back as the Wanderers man hoons off upfield.

48 min: Some early consternation for the Wanderers defence as Al-Zori drills over a low cross which Covic does well to push away. Al-Shamrani is there, so too Al-Zori and there’s a shout for a penalty as the latter falls to the ground under pressure from Hamill. Nothing doing, says the ref, and play goes on.

47 min: So, 45 minutes or so for the Wanderers to find a way through and get something to take to Riyadh next weekend. Or if not, a clean sheet will do.

45 min: Oooh! Best chance of the game falls to Al-Shamrani, who races onto a through pass but he can only lift his effort over the bar, with Covic racing off his line to narrow the angle and under pressure from Torpor-Stanley. That’s a real let-off for Wanderers.

42 min: Santalab comes back on his first act is to get booked, for a needless challenge from behind on Pantili. Meanwhile, we have an email, and on the face of it, it doesn’t seem to contain anything about a prize I’ve won or any requests for personal details . Indeed, it’s sydneyxraven, who writes: “If it stays 0-0 at HT I can see Poppa dropping the troops further and further back. Keep a clean sheet and grab a chance on the road, it’s worked in other rounds.”

40 min: Ouch. Double ouch. Santalab appears to dislocate his shoulder. The look on his face is priceless – a mixture of disbelief and utter agony – as he realises what has happened. I think they’ve popped it back in, and he heads off the pitch to prepare for an immediate return.

37 min: The Saudis look the more eager at the moment. They’re certainly covering more ground, tracking back when they lose possession and pressing high up the pitch. And they’ve got a touch of class when with the ball. That said, Covic hasn’t really been tested so far.

36 min: Haliti surges away now, only to be caught and upended, prompting howls of derision from the massed ranks of Wanderers fans. Nothing comes of the resulting free-kick though, which is pumped rather aimlessly into the box.

34 min: Wanderers are just lacking a cool head in the middle of the park at the moment. Although they’re not being helped by some tigerish pressing from Al-Hilal.

31 min: Poljak goes into the book for a lunge which catches Romanian Pantili on the ankle. That’s a nasty one for the Al-Hilal player. Yellow the right colour for Poljak though.

30 min: Thiago Neves fired well over from that earlier corner, and now Wanderers have a chance to put their foot on the ball and compose themselves. Hamill hoofs a long ball out wide though and they have to settle for a throw-in.

26 min: Covic punches clear from a cross into the box, not entirely convincingly, but it has enough on it to ease the pressure. But the Saudis pick up possession again and before too long win a corner after a fantastic run by Al-Zori. That’s their fifth of the half.

23 min: Home hearts are in mouths for a moment as Al-Zori is played into the box by Al-Farij. Mullen looks to be caught out but despite him falling to the deck, the Saudi player can’t make anything of it and Covic smothers his effort from close range.

21 min: Covic is forced to slide in to make a clearance after having come off his line and amid all the anticipation and excitement, it has to be said that this has been a rather underwhelming start to the match by the home side.

19 min: The ball now ends up in the Red and Black Block. No surprises that it won’t be seen again on the pitch tonight. Quite some souvenir:

17 min: A ball is flashed across the ‘no-man’s land’ between keeper and last line of defence (otherwise known as ‘the corridor of uncertainty’) but Torpor-Stanley is aware of where his team-mates and more importantly the Al-Hilal players are and he lets it go all the way through. Smart defending.

14 min: Al-Dawsari makes a move inside before letting fly from abour 25 yards out. It’s well blocked but Wanderers will be aware of the Saudi’s threat in that kind of area.

11 min: Wanderers are struggling to make any inroads into the Saudi’s well-organised defence so far. Golec wants a corner here from a free-kick wafted into the box here, but the ref’s having none of it.

9 min: Thiago Neves, who is a Brazil international with seven caps to his name, takes a pot shot at goal. Again Covic is equal to it. Solid, body behind the ball and everything.

7 min: Saud Kariri sends over a hoofed cross that is the type of ball that could cause chaos in a jittery defence, but Covic leaps high into the night air and plucks the ball out of the sky with the air of a confident man.

5 min: Al-Hilal are clearly a quality side. The way they are keeping possession, just playing it around the back before making an incisive pass, smacks of a side who know how to play away from home in a big game.

3 min: The noise at Parramatta Stadium is intense, according to the people on the telly, and has been like that for hours running up to kick-off. We’ll have to take their word for it.

2 min: Thiago Neves gets an early touch as Al-Hilal fashion an opening down the left-hand side. Al-Farij (who Robbie Slater is calling ‘Farage’ like right-wing Brit politician Nigel) sends over a dangerous cross but Golec does enough to put Al-Shamrani off his shot. Bright opening from the visitors, who clearly haven’t travelled all this way to park the bus.

The teams are going through the formalities with ACL officials and while we await kick-off perhaps now is an opportune moment to update you on tonight’s colours – Wanderers are in red and black, obvs, and Al-Hilal are in all-blue.

Prize Patrol has been in touch with the first tweet of the night to tell me I’ve been chosen as today’s winner. Of what it’s not absolutely certain, but I’m absolutely delighted anyway. Undoubtedly great news, but if there are any real people out there who want to comment on the football, please do so @mike_hytner.

The teams are in the tunnel. No shirt swapping just yet. Just greeting officials and the customary goalkeepers’ union formality of shaking hands with your opposite number.

Every man, woman and child with any connection to Western Sydney has been getting into the spirit of things pre-kick-off. Isn’t football an amazing thing, eh? Brings people together. That’s (one of the reasons) why we love it.

Team news

The returning Matthew Spiranovic and Tomi Juric make the bench for Wanderers, while Dutch ace Romeo Castelen is ineligible. Vitor Saba, who was sent off in last weekend’s Sydney derby, is also named as a substitute (although that decision has nothing to do with his red card), with Shannon Cole and Labinot Haliti coming into the side.

For the Saudis, club captain Yasser Al-Qahtani is suspended, but coach Laurențiu Reghecampf can call on the likes of Thiago Neves and Nasser Al-Shamrani, who Socceroos fans may know a thing or two about.

It’s a sell-out tonight, apparently, which comes as no surprise given Wanderers fans have very much been a part of the club’s success story to date. (I say ‘to date’ not in a lame effort to troll the Red and Black Block, but just because I’m not a soothsayer.) And by all accounts the away end is already contributing to a decent atmosphere inside the ground.

Anyway, this is the kind of ambiance we we can expect tonight:

Preamble

If you’re not inclined to listening to Public Enemy and prone to believing the hype, then what we have here is a fairy tale. Forget magic beans and giants or cannibalistic witches and cottages made entirely out of confectionary, Western Sydney Wanderers’ scarcely believable journey to the Asian Champions League final is the stuff of pure fantasy.

Who would have thought we would arrive here, at the beginning of two matches that could etch Wanderers’ name into the annals of Asian football – and elevate Tony Popovic’s side into Australian football folklore. One hundred and eighty minutes away (and possibly a wee bit more, but we’ll see how things pan out) from lifting this (which is, by my reckoning, a world of design away from the toilet seat):

It’s a truly remarkable story, one that has seen the two-and-a-half-year-old Wanderers (they’re so young, the ‘half’ is still worth noting – just ask any four-and-three-quarter-year-old of the importance of stating precise age) rise quicker than recent Antarctic sea levels, taking in during their first couple of years of existence an A-League minor premiership and a runners-up medal, two A-League final appearances (both lost, but hey) and now a run all the way to the ACL final. Along the way this campaign, they’ve defeated 2013 champions Guangzhou Evergrande, 2013 runners-up FC Seoul and 2012 winners Ulsan Hyundai. You just couldn’t make it up.

A disappointing start to this A-League season has done little to dampen spirits out west and hopes are high that Wanderers can secure a decent result in the intimidating fortress that is Parramatta Stadium tonight to take back to Saudi Arabia in a week’s time for the deciding second leg. I’ll be here to guide you through events for the next couple of hours or so; please do feel free to get in touch to point out any factual errors, typos or instances of lazy journalism. Or even to comment on the game itself. Email mike.hytner@theguardian.com or tweet me @mike_hytner.

Mike will be here shortly to take you through the evening’s proceedings. Until then, why not peruse John Duerden’s excellent profile of Wanderers’ opposition tonight, Al Hilal.

On the way to Guangzhou Evergrande’s home stadium for the second leg of the 2014 Asian Champions League quarter-final, Western Sydney Wanderers had their team-bus rammed by an over-enthusiastic local fan. At least it would have woken up any players catching up on sleep lost after early morning phone calls to their hotel rooms. Fans are just as passionate, perhaps even more so, about Saudi Arabia’s biggest club, already arrived down under for Saturday’s first leg of the 2014 Asian Champions League final. Western Sydney Wanderers would love to lift the trophy, but for Al Hilal it’s different. This Riyadh institution needs to win.

Read John’s full piece here.