TEHRAN – Esteghlal football team will be desperate to not slip up when it hosts Al Shorta in the AFC Champions League Elite 2024-25 on Monday.
Victory will keep Iran’s Esteghlal within touching distance of the knockout stage.
Esteghlal blew hot and cold prior to the continental championship going into the break, only managing one win and five points.
That, however, was enough to see it sits in eighth - the final qualifying spot - and victories in its remaining two matches will take the team through.
Al Shorta, however, is in a battle for survival as the Iraqi side has to win its final two matches to stand a chance of advancing.
Two points from six matches makes for grim reading but with nothing to lose, Al Shorta will be determined to fight till the end and Esteghal must not take victory for granted against the bottom-placed side in the West Zone standings.