Esteghlal, Persepolis flying high ahead of season-defining derby
Persian Gulf Pro League giants Esteghlal and Persepolis are in dazzling form ahead of the highly-anticipated encounter at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Sunday.
As if the 100th Tehran derby needed more reason for excitement, a defeat for either side could virtually mean the end of the hunt for the top-flight title with three rounds of matches to spare after Sunday’s game.
Last Saturday’s 6-1 hammering of Havadar at home saw Esteghlal leapfrog Sepahan to go top of the table on a more number of goals scored, with Persepolis trailing the top two by a single point after beating Mes Kerman 3-1.
Back-to-back league defeats against Sepahan and Tractor in January had left Esteghlal eight points off the pace of the title race, leaving Portuguese manager Ricardo Sa Pinto on the verge of sacking with less than seven months into the job.
However, a run of nine wins and a draw in 10 outings has seen the Blues flying high before chasing a first derby win in the league since March 2018.
In-from winger Mehdi Qayedi got off to a shaky start to the season since rejoining Esteghlal on loan from Emirati club Shabab Al Ahli in the summer but has been scoring and creating chances at will in recent weeks, bagging eight goals in the past nine appearances.
The 24-year-old has formed a formidable partnership with Mohammad Mohebbi, who netted twice against Havadar to take his tally for the season to seven goals.
Meanwhile, Persepolis, which lost the top spot after a 1-0 home defeat against Sepahan in late March, was right back in the winning ways after the Persian new year vacations and enters Sunday’s game on the back of three consecutive victories, including a massive 1-0 away win against sixth-placed Mes Rafsanjan.
The good news for Persepolis manager Yahya Golmohammadi is that summer marquee signing Saeed Sadeqi looks to have found his scoring boots after returning from a hamstring injury, while the addition of Soroush Rafiei in recent weeks has provided the Reds with more creativity in the middle of the pitch.
Impressive young striker Mohammad Omri missed the win against Mes Kerman with an injury but is expected to recover in time to make the starting XI in the derby.
Golmohammadi will hope his backline of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and center-backs Morteza Pouraliganji and Giorgi Gvelesiani, which have conceded 13 goals in 26 games – second best in the league – will produce another fine performance when facing the league’s best frontline with 42 goals.
A draw on Sunday will do little to help either of the two in the title run-in but it could see Sepahan move two points clear on top after the home game against Malavan a day later, edging ever closer to a first league crown in eight years.