Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Al Ain: The 2016 AFC Champions League runners-up Al Ain will be seeking their first win of the 2018 campaign when they entertain Esteghlal in Group D at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday.
The Emirati side, who are without the suspended Mohamed Abdulrahman, have drawn their first two matches, after Al Rayyan left the UAE with a point following Swedish striker Marcus Berg’s opener from the spot two weeks ago.
Esteghlal drew their opening game 2-2 with Al Rayyan then claimed an impressive 1-0 victory over Al Hilal on Matchday Two after Abdullah Al Hafith’s own goal. A positive result in Al Ain would leave the Iranian side in a strong position at the midway point of the group stage.
Al Ain will have happy memories of the last time they met, in the first knockout round last year, when, after Esteghlal won 1-0 in Tehran, the Emirati team stormed back to post a resounding 6-1 home victory to advance 6-2 on aggregate.