Persian Gulf Pro League:
Persepolis to begin title defense against Iralco; Sepahan, Tractor facing off on Matchday One
Reigning domestic double champion Persepolis will kick off the quest for a seventh Persian Gulf Pro League crown in eight years against Aluminium Arak – Iralco – on August 3 at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.
In one of the tightest Iranian top-flight races in recent years, Yahya Golmohammadi’s side won the last seven matches to pip Sepahan to the title by a single point in May – before defeating Esteghlal in the Hazfi Cup final.
Sepahan will be looking to lift a first league trophy since 2015 when starting the new season at home against Tractor, which finished fourth last term, thanks to an impressive run in the second half of the campaign under Spanish manager Paco Jémez.
Having massively bolstered their squads in the ongoing transfer window, both sides will again be among the favorites for the ultimate prize.
Former Iranian skipper Javad Nekounam will embark on a new chapter of his managerial career as the head coach of Esteghlal when his team visits the scorching city of Abadan to take on San’at Naft.
Abodollah Veisi took charge of San’at Naft’s bench with eight games remaining last season to inspire the southern Iranian club to pick up 13 points and avoid relegation on the final day.
The last time these two met a 1-1 draw in Tehran effectively knocked Esteghlal out of the three-horse title race with two games to spare.
Elsewhere on Matchday One, Esteghlal Khuzestan – champion in 2016 – will mark its top-flight return after four years with a home fixture against other promoted side Shams Azar Qazvin, which won the second-tier league for a maiden Pro League participation.
Nassaji Mazandaran, which will represent the country in the upcoming AFC Champions League season as the 2022 Hazfi Cup champion, will host Paykan.
Both teams will have new managers at the helm as ex-Iralco boss Seyyed Mehdi Rahmati will be in charge of the home side, while Rasoul Khatibi has replaced Mojtaba Hosseini on Paykan bench.
Saket Elhami will take his new team Mes Rafsanjan to Tehran for a game against his last season’s club Havadar, with Malavan and Zob Ahan squaring off in Bandar-e Anzali.
Alireza Mansourian’s Foolad Khuzestan will get its new campaign underway at Golgohar Sirjan, which has hired Marinos Ouzounidis – a former coach at Greek giants AEK Athens and Panathinaikos – for the start of the season.
Derby day
The first big test of the season for Persepolis will come on Matchday Two when Golmohammadi’s men fly to northwest Iran to meet Tractor against a feverish crowd at Tabriz’s Yadegar-e Imam Stadium.
Sepahan will play away to Zob Ahan in the Isfahan derby, with Esteghlal facing Malavan at the Azadi Stadium for the first home game of the season.
The date of the fixtures is yet to be confirmed by the Iranian League Organization.
Nekounam will then lead the Blues in the away game against Sepahan in the Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium in the third round of fixtures.
Persepolis, meanwhile, will play Zob Ahan (h) and Foolad Khuzestan (a) before the most iconic fixture in the Iranian club football’s calendar sees the Reds square off against Esteghlal in the Tehran derby on Matchday Five.