Iran to host depleted but dangerous Uzbekistan

PFDC – TEHRAN, Much will be at stake when currently second placed Iran (7 points) will host third placed Uzbekistan (5 points) in World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday (20:00 Tehran time).

Both sides experienced spirit-raising wins on matchday four, with Uzbekistan taking home three points from Qatar where as ten-man Iran overcame South Korea at home.

With another four matches to go, there’s still everything to play for, but under the current circumstances, neither side will be satisfied with a draw.

Uzbekistan without influential midfield duo

Again Uzbekistan won’t have their best squad available. Veteran winger Jasur Hasanov (not to confuse with young Jasur Hasanov, who is present in the roster) and centreback Anzur Ismailov will be out due to suspension.

Powerful striker Bahodir Nasimov of Azerbaidjan’s Neftchi Baku is also unavailable due to suspension while aging star striker Maxim Shatskikh plays no role in the national team anymore.

The Uzbekistan camp has been mostly been hit by the injuries of veteran midfielder and skipper Timur Kapadze and Russian Premier League midfielder Odil Akhmedov.

The extremely influential midfield duo could be replaced by youngsters Oleg Zoteev and Fozil Musaev.

However, with the likes of playmaker Server Djeparov, winger Sanzhar Tursunov – goalscorer in Uzbekistan’s two latest qualifiers – defensive midfielder Azizbek Haydarov and strikers Ulugbek Bakayev and Aleksandr Geynrikh, the visitors are certainly not short of quality in their ranks.

Queiroz without veteran playmakers

Iran are also without some important players. Long-time injured Mojtaba Jabbari and superstar Ali Karimi are both out absent, which again puts question marks over the playmaking position.

Mohammad Nouri again could get the nod like against South Korea last month, but also Milad Nouri and Ghasem Dehnavi could be alternatives after impressing in the 6-1 thrashin of Tajikistan last week.

Also missing are defender Hadi Aghily, who surprisingly was left out of the squad withou further explanation despite the Qatar SC centrehalf having recovered from his injury, suspended winger Masoud Shojaei, striker Mohammad Ghazi and winger Ahmad Hassanzadeh, who hurt himself in training.

Carlos Queiroz himself also will not be on the bench after being expelled from the referee against South Korea. Assistant coach Antonio Simoes will fill in for the star coach, who will send his team onto the field in the red away jerseys again.

However, central midfielders Andranik Teymourian and Omid Nazari have recovered from minor injuries and are ready to go.

Revenge or history repeating?

Uzbekistan will also be eager to avenge their bitter defeat in the first encounter of the two sides in Tashkent earlier this year.

There Uzbekistan, despite numerous absent key players, dominated the proceedings and were denied a correct goal before a last-gasp winner by  substitute Mohammad-Reza Khalatbari punished the hosts for taking too many risks in injury time and saw coach Vadim Abramov being replaced by his predecessor Mirajol Qasimov immediately afterwards.

A similar result would put Iran in excellent position to qualify for the World Cup as one of the two top teams in the group, with the next encounter taking place in Qatar no earlier than June 2013.

Probable lineups:

Iran: Rahmati – Heydari, Montazeri, Hosseini, Pouladi – Teymourian, Nekounam, Mohammad Nouri – Dejagah, Ghoochannejhad, Khalatbari

Uzbekistan: Nesterov – Shorakhmedov, Filiposyan, Tukhtakhodjaev, Gadoev – Tursunov, Haydarov, Zoteev, Musaev, Djeparov – Bakayev