AFC Champions League Elite:
Last eight on the horizon as Esteghlal visits Al Nassr
A place in the AFC Champions League Elite quarterfinals will be up for grabs when Saudi heavyweight Al Nassr hosts Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal in Riyadh today.
The tie is finely balanced after the two sides played to a goalless stalemate in the first leg in Tehran last week, and Esteghlal will be looking to build on the solid defensive performance, spearheaded by goalkeeper Seyyed Hossein Hosseini, when taking on the formidable, star-studded frontline of the home side at Al Awwal Park.
With Al Nassr dominating at the iconic Azadi Stadium, the Blues keeper pulled off a string of superb saves to keep Sadio Mane and Jhon Durán at bay, but the good news for the Saudi side and Italian head coach Stefano Pioli is that Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is available for selection again after missing the first leg with what was reported to be a fitness issue.
Ronaldo scored on return to Al Nassr lineup in a 2-2 draw against Al Shabab in the Saudi Pro League on Friday, taking his domestic tally to 18 goals, and will be chasing a seventh goal in sixth Asian outing this season.
History, however, is against Ronaldo as the Portuguese skipper has failed to find the back of the net in the previous three meetings with the Iranian clubs – including the league phase encounter with today’s opponent last October – though his team will draw inspiration from a 12-game unbeaten run against Persian Gulf Pro League outfits.
Pioli will be without Portuguese midfielder Otavio and Spanish center-back Aymeric Laporte, as well as Saudi internationals Abdullah Al-Khaibari and Sultan Al-Ghannam, who are all ruled out of the contest with injury.
Esteghlal has been unbeaten in five games in the Asian Champions League, but Miodrag Bozovic’s men will need to adopt a more attacking outlook if they are to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2018 campaign, having bagged eight goals in nine games in the competition this season.
Esteghlal center-back Rouzbeh Cheshmi and midfielder Arash Rezavand will be facing a race against time to make it to the game after suffering minor injuries during a training session in Riyadh.