Al Ittihad vs Zob Ahan
Drawing of the AFC’s last 16 this season brought Al Ittihad with Zob Ahan. The hosts try to score as many goals as possible in the party so that the second leg’s task is easier. The match was broadcast on Monday (5/8) live from Zabeel Stadium.
Al Ittihad managed to qualify for this phase after landing as runner-up in Group B with 11 points from 6 matches. In particular, they never lost when they played as hosts with a score of 5-1, 3-2 and 1-1 against Al Rayyan, Lokomotiv Tashkent, and Al Wahda.
Meanwhile, Zob Ahan will play with the status of winning Group A; they became the only contestants who did not suffer defeat in this group with 12 points. Like Al Ittihad, they also reap 2 1 draw in away games with a score of 2-3, 1-3 and 2-2 against Al Nassr, Al Wasl and Al Zawraa.
This party will be the third meeting after the two camps met at the same event in 2010. At that time Al Ittihad was held to a 1-1 draw at home, then lost 1-0 when they went to Zob Ahan’s headquarters. However, Al Ittihad will appear with different strengths on this occasion by relying on the fertility of Fahad Al Muuwallad, Nassir Al Shamrani and Romarinho who have contributed a total of 10 goals. On the contrary, Amir Arsalan is the only name that stands out from the stronghold of Zob Ahan who has so far scored 3 goals.
Zob Ahan must be wary of the new forces that Al Ittihad has gathered; that doesn’t mean they don’t have a gap to use because the host has conceded 9 times, while Zob Ahan is only 5 times. If this is the case, draw seems to be the safest mission on this occasion, repeating tactics 9 years ago.
Our Prediction: Draw
Odds: 2.30