All to play for as Iranian top flight enters final stretch
There will be all to play for at both ends of the table when the Persian Gulf Pro League season enters the final four rounds of fixtures today.
Despite a 2-2 draw at Chadormalou last time out, Tractor remains the favorite to lift a maiden league crown, holding a decent lead in the three-horse title race.
Sitting two and four points clear of nearest rivals Sepahan and Persepolis, respectively, with a game in hand, Tractor will be looking to get back in the winning ways against in-form Malavan on Friday.
The chasing duo, meanwhile, will square off at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium later on Friday, eager to keep their slim title hopes alive, while a runner-up finish and a place in next season’s AFC Champions League Elite will also be on the line.
Tractor will have to visit fourth-placed Foolad Khuzestan on April 25 – in a rescheduled fixture from Matchday 22 – and then play away to Shams Azar and Esteghlal Khuzestan either side of a home game against relegation-threatened Nassaji Mazandaran.
Sepahan, which will shift focus to Iranian Hazfi Cup last eight after Friday’s trip to Tehran, will host fifth-placed Golgohar Sirjan on return to league action before facing bottom-club Havadar (away) and Esteghlal (home).
Two of the relegation candidates will come Persepolis’s until the end of the season.
Persepolis, which have dominated the domestic league with seven titles in eight seasons, will play at Mes Rafsanjan – third from bottom – having lost the reverse fixture 3-1 at home last December in former head coach Juan Carlos Garrido’s final game on the Reds bench.
The two-time defending champion will also visit Khaybar in the penultimate round, before concluding its below-par campaign against Havadar at home.
Survival battle
Separated by five points, three teams will be hoping to extend their stay in the Iranian top-tier league for next season.
A defining encounter will see Mes host Havadar today, with Nassaji –three points above Havadar – closing watching before playing away to Khaybar on Thursday.
All too familiar with the relegation threat in recent years, Nassaji, which has former coach Saket Elhami back in the dugout, will then welcome Havadar to the Vatani Stadium on May 2, with tricky tests at Tractor and at home against Zob Ahan also coming its way.
Mes, meanwhile, will square off against Zob Ahan (A) and Khaybar (H).
Havadar head coach Omid Ravankhah will hope to see his men build on an impressive form of late in the closing stage of a dreadful season.
Havadar is rock bottom with 19 points – seven of which have been collected in the previous three outings – with a game in hand, and will be looking to close the gap on safety following today’s game and the rescheduled visit to Esteghlal on Monday.
Nassaji (A), Sepahan (H), and Persepolis (A) also await Havadar.
Elsewhere in the league, Golgohar welcomes Esteghlal to Sirjan today, and Iralco and Chadormalou go head-to-head in Arak on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, Zob Ahan and Esteghlal Khuzestan meet in Isfahan, with Foolad hosting Shams Azar in Ahvaz’s Foolad Arena on Friday.