PENINSULA
After drawing their opening game
away at the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis, Pakhtakor will eyeing
back-to-back home wins when they take al Sadd.
In the last match, Marat Bikmaev
scored the only goal of the game as the Uzbek side defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al
Ahli 1-0 four weeks ago.
The Tashkent team, who are without
the suspended Khumoyunmirzo Iminov, also lead the way in the Uzbek Super League
as Friday’s 2-1 win over Nasaf made it three victories from three since their
domestic championship kicked off in mid-March.
Baghdad Bounedjah scored deep into
added time as Al Sadd claimed what could prove a vital 1-0 victory over
Persepolis on Matchday Two as they rebounded from an opening-day defeat to Al
Ahli.
Since their last game on the
continent, Al Sadd wrapped up their first QSL title since 2013 following a 2-2
draw against Al Duhail, and they go into today’s game on the back of a 7-2
victory over fellow Doha side Al Ahli last week. In Doha, Qatar’s Al Rayyan
will look to make it back-to-back home wins when they host the United Arab
Emirates’ Al Wahda in Group B of the 2019 AFC Champions League at the Jassim
bin Hamad Stadium today.
Goals from Lucca and Gelmin Rivas
helped the Qatari side come from behind to claim a 2-1 victory over
Uzbekistan’s PFC Lokomotiv on Matchday Two as they rebounded strongly from an
opening-day defeat to Al Ittihad.
The hosts go into the game on the
back of a 2-2 draw against Al Sailiya in the Qatar Stars League at the end of
last week and they currently sit fourth in the standings.
Leonardo scored twice as Al Wahda
secured an impressive 4-1 victory over Al Ittihad four weeks ago to ensure all
four teams in Group B are on three points going into the third round of
fixtures.
Like their opponents, Al Wahda also
drew their last league game, with a 1-1 draw against Al Dhafra on Thursday
leaving them sixth in the UAE Pro League.