AFC Champions League Elite:
Esteghlal keen to bounce back from derby blues against Al Nassr
Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal will be looking to rise from the ashes of Thursday’s defeat against Persepolis when hosting Saudi Pro League heavyweight Al Nassr in the AFC Champions League last 16 today.
A 2-1 loss to their city rivals, which saw Esteghlal drop to ninth in the Iranian top-flight table, was not the kind of the debut new head coach Miodrag Bozovic had wished for. However, a decent result against their star-studded opponents today could help the Montenegrin win over the Blues’ faithful in the early days of his tenure.
Esteghlal has been struggling with lack of consistency on and off the pitch, as Bozovic, who was only appointed to role on Wednesday, is the fifth coach, including interim Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh and Mohammad Navazi, to sit on the Blues bench this season.
History and numbers are on Al Nassr’s side ahead of the encounter, with the Riyadh-based outfit unbeaten in 11 games against the Iranian clubs, while Esteghlal is on a five-game winless run against the sides from Saudi Arabia.
The Iranian club netted only eight goals in the league phase of the revamped Asian competition, drawing blanks in four outings, while the Saudi club has the joint-best defensive record in the west zone with only six goals conceded.
Qualification to the round of 16 was only sealed on the final league stage matchday, thanks to a 2-0 defeat of Qatar’s Al Rayyan SC, which ended the Blues’ six-match winless streak on the continent and Esteghlal will hope to maintain the momentum today, especially with their fans backing them in an expected jam-packed Azadi Stadium – arguably the most daunting venue in Asian football.
Al Nassr will also head into the tie on the back of a domestic defeat, a 2-1 loss to Al Orobah on Friday leaving its Saudi Pro League title hopes in tatters.
Stefano Pioli’s men, however, will be confident of their chances against Esteghlal, having already defeated the Iranian side 1-0 when the teams met in the league stage last October in Dubai.
The good news for Esteghlal is that Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo decided to skip the visit to the Iranian capital, for unknown reasons, and will join a long list of injured players, including Spanish center-back Aymeric Laporte and Portuguese midfielder Otávio, in sitting out the game.
The two sides will square off in the second leg next week at Al-Awwal Park.