AFC Champions League Elite:
Persepolis facing daunting Al Hilal test, Esteghlal eyeing Al Shorta win
The scale of the opposition will be in stark contrast for Tehran archrivals, Persepolis and Esteghlal, when they resume action in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Sitting sixth in the 12-team table, Persepolis will have to visit Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena to take on West Zone leader Al Hilal on Tuesday, with eight-placed Esteghlal playing bottom-side Al Shorta at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Monday.
The game in the Saudi capital will be the second for new Reds manager Ismail Kartal, whose team played to a 1-1 away draw to Foolad Khuzestan in the Iranian top flight on Friday, and the Turkish boss will be looking to keep his side in contention for a top-eight finish, and thus, a knockout place ahead of the final game in the league phase against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr on February 17.
The Iranian league champion will be without injured trio Oston Urunov, Vahid Amiri, and Milad Sarlak, while skipper Omid A’alishah and Moroccan fullback Ayoub El Amloud are doubtful after missing the Foolad game.
Midfielder Mohammad Khodabandelou is available for selection after serving a one-match suspension against Foolad, with Turkish striker Serdar Dursun, who signed from Alanyaspor last week, expected to be named in the squad.
Al Hilal, meanwhile, will have to do without injured Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrović, who has bagged 20 goals in 24 games across all competitions this season.
A first win of the campaign for Persepolis, which has six points, came against Al Shorta last time out in the competition, thanks to Giorgi Gvelesiani’s spot-kick deep into stoppage time, and a fourth loss in seven games could see the Reds drop out of the top eight before the final day.
Esteghlal – a single point behind Persepolis – could mount the pressure on its city rival, should the Blues walk away with maximum points against Al Shorta today.
Esteghlal is yet to win a game in the competition since beating Al Gharafa 3-0 at home on the opening day back in September, but will be eager to build on Thursday’s 2-0 victory over Esteghlal Khuzestan, which ended the club’s six-game winless run in the domestic league.
Interim coach Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh took charge of the Blues bench for a second spell against Es. Khuzestan – after South African Pitso Mosimane had walked away from his job on Wednesday – and knows an Asian last-16 spot could well prove his credentials for the job until the end of the season.