ACL MD4: Al Ahli (UAE) vs Sepahan Preview

AFC – DUBAI: Coach Zlatko Krancjar has insisted his Sepahan side will right the wrongs of their first AFC Champions League encounter with Emirati club Al Ahli in their Group D return fixture on Tuesday in Dubai.

The Matchday Three meeting a fortnight ago ended in a 2-1 loss for Krancjar’s Iran Pro League outfit, but a win at the Rashid Stadium this week would see them leapfrog Al Ahli and into the top two places of the group.

And the Croatian believes that if his side can take on board the lessons from their first meeting with Cosmin Olaroiu’s team, and add some potency to their attack, they will get a positive result on foreign soil.

“We should learn from the mistakes that we made in the first leg in order to avoid another defeat. We were the better side in the previous match but we failed to take advantage from the chances that we had,” said coach Krancjar.

“We should make a good comeback after the previous defeat as we must maintain our chances to qualify to the knockout stage. We respect Al Ahli and we should not underestimate them as they are playing at home and in front of their fans.”

Undefeated Al Ahli, though, will look to continue the successes of teams from the United Arab Emirates in this year’s continental competition so far, as they, along with Al Ain and Al Jazira all currently occupy top two positions in their respective groups.

“We worked hard in the previous match in order to win and we achieved a good victory. We expect a tough match tomorrow as Sepahan are a strong team and their players have good physical abilities,” said Al Ahli coach Olaroiu, who saw his side defeat Sharjah 2-1 in their domestic league on Thursday.

“Our opponents have more rest than us and hopefully the players will not be tired in order to have a good performance. Victory will be a big push and will give us the edge against the other teams in the group.”