AFC Champions League Two:
Sepahan, Esteghlal eager to build on domestic momentum
Persian Gulf Pro League clubs Sepahan and Esteghlal will look to take inspiration from their recent domestic form when resuming AFC Champions League Two action.
Sepahan will take on Turkmenistan’s Ahal FC in Group C at Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium today, with Esteghlal hosting Jordan’s Al Wehdat in Group A at the Shahr-e Qods Stadium on Wednesday.
Sepahan will head into the home game on the back of two wins either side of goalless draw against city rival Zob Ahan in the Iranian league, having failed to win any of its first six games in the new season.
Mohammad Daneshgar and Ehsan Hajsafi were on target as Sepahan walked away with a 2-0 win at Esteghlal Khuzestan on Friday to move up to seventh in the Iranian league table.
Moharram Navidkia’s men suffered a 1-0 away loss to Jordanian top-flight champion Al Hussein in their opening game in the group, which now features only three teams after India’s Mohun Bagan SG was expelled from the competition for refusing to travel to Iran for the previous matchday in September.
Ahal FC will also chase a first win the Asian second-tier competition, following a 4-1 home defeat against the Jordanian side last time out.
Esteghlal, meanwhile, will step onto the pitch fresh off a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mes Rafsanjan in Tehran on Friday.
In-form Albanian winger Jasir Asani found the net in the first half – his third goal in six league outings – as the Capital Blues celebrated only a second victory across all competitions in the new campaign – Esteghlal’s first win in 58 days.
The result took Esteghlal to third in the table, easing the pressure on under-fire Portuguese coach Ricardo Sa Pinto, but his team still can’t afford to drop points today after back-to-back defeats in its opening two matches.
Esteghlal began its campaign with a 7-1 humiliation against the UAE’s Al Wasl in Dubai, and then fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Bahrain’s Al Muharraq.
Al Wehdat is also desperate to end a two-game losing streak in the competition.
The Jordanian team was beaten 2-1 by Al Wasl at home, before the 4-0 rout at Al Muharraq in mid-September.