JEDDAH, 23 May 2007 — With a spot in the quarterfinals on the line Al-Shabab of Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Sepahan clash today in the AFC Champions League football tournament.
Sepahan play host to Shabab in the Group D match where the winner will advance to the round of eight in the competition along with the six other winners of the group matches. Defending champions Chonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea have been seeded as the eighth team in the quarterfinals.
Another Saudi team, Riyadh-based Al-Hilal, have earlier qualified from Group B where only three teams competed after one Iranian team was disqualified.
Entering the final match of the group both teams are tied on 10 points from 5 games with three wins, one draw and one defeat although Sepahan are on top on goal difference.
Shabab and Sepahan will look to secure the game three points and qualify for the next round, as there is only one seat available from the group.
Shabab defeated Al-Ain of UAE in Riyadh on May 9 and Sepahan defeated Ittihad of Syria 5-0 in Syria. Shabab are definitely going all out for victory to try and restore their battered image following a shocking 2-1 defeat by Makkab-based Wehda in the King’s Cup stepladder final match in Makkah on Friday.
Shabab arrived in Iran on Monday and immediately trained in preparation for the important match.
Shabab are expected to be on attack mode from the first minute of the match and at the same time seal out the defense line in front of the Sepahan attackers.
Shabab will rely also on long balls to fast strikers Atram and Naji Majrashi in anticipation of a tough task in breaking through Iranian defense line and scoring an early goal.
