Al-Nassr vs Esteghlal

A place in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals is on the line as Al-Nassr and Esteghlal go head-to-head in the return leg of their evenly-poised last-16 tie at the King Saud University Stadium.

Al-Nassr’s quest to bring home a historic first AFC Champions League title hangs in the balance after a scoreless draw in Iran last week. Stefano Pioli’s side followed up on that with a goal-glutted 2-2 stalemate against domestic rivals Al-Shabab at the weekend, making it just one win from their last six competitive outings (D2, L3). Furthermore, Cristiano Ronaldo & Co have gone from four consecutive home victories to back-to-back winless games (D1, L1), conceding 2+ goals on both occasions. However, they’ve been relentless in the final third, netting at least two goals in all six, including a 4-0 demolition of Al-Wasl in this competition last month. 

Meanwhile, Esteghlal won two AFC Champions League trophies in the 20th century and must defy the odds to do it this time. Unlike Al-Nassr, they had a weekend off to rest and prepare for this fixture, looking to improve a dismal all-time H2H record against the Saudi Pro League giants (W1, D1, L2). However, the visitors have stuttered on the road in this season’s competition, going winless on their first three travels (D1, L2) – all of which saw them concede over 1.5 goals – before beating Al-Rayyan 2-0 last time out.