ACL MD5: Sepahan vs Al Sadd Preview

AFC – ESFAHAN, Sepahan coach Zlatko Kranjcar believes that Al Sadd’s drubbing at the hands of Al Hilal two weeks ago was not an accurate reflection of their performance and he expects a difficult outing for his team when they entertain the Qatari side in their penultimate Group D game in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.

Al Sadd were thrashed 5-0 by the Saudi side to drop from first to third in the group. However they remained a point ahead of Sepahan, who are in last place in the group and badly need a win in order to maintain their challenge for a place in the last 16.
Kranjcar is in little doubt about the importance of the game for his team.

“This is a very important match for us and we need all three points,” said the Croatian, who will be without suspended Albanian midfielder Ervin Bulku. “The game is vital for us and we are in a good shape, considering our last two matches in our local league and the AFC Champions League.

“We will try to gain a victory and we hope to maintain our good form until the end of the match.

“I have watched Al Sadd’s last match against Al Hilal. The result didn’t reflect what really happened on the pitch. I have to say that they couldn’t get back into the game when they were 2-0 behind. But they will do a good job defending tomorrow and they will try to finish the game with at least a point.”

Al Sadd coach Hussein Amotta feels that the two spots in the group and a place in the knockout stage are still very much up for grabs for all four teams in Group D.

“We know that we will have a tough game and as I have already said all four teams will have the chance to qualify,” said the Moroccan.

“The result of tomorrow’s match could almost determine which teams will go through to the next stage. My players will resist against Sepahan and will not make the same mistakes as in our last match against Al Hilal.

“Sepahan are good in attack and tough in defence. We will try to gain possession and not let them create chances,” he said. “Our goal is to collect points from the match but if we lose, we still have the chance.”