Al Sadd aim to continue fine start against Persepolis

Qatar’s Al Sadd will aim to continue their fine start when they host Iran’s Persepolis to the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium for their AFC Champions League Elite tie today.
The Felix Sanchez team is on four points after two matches with Iran’s Persepolis needing victory after having opened their campaign with a draw and a defeat.
“All the matches of the continental championship and tomorrow’s match are very tough, and we will try to maintain our upward path and achieve the desired result,” said Sanchez.
Although The Wolves did not appear in the knockout stage at the continental level in the last three editions of the AFC Champions League, they will head into the tie against Persepolis not having lost at the group stage in their past four matches.
A 2-0 defeat of Persepolis’ domestic rivals Esteghlal earlier has boosted confidence and AFC Champions 2011 winners Al Sadd will be aiming for a second successive win to stay in the race for a spot in the Round of 16.
Persepolis are in desperate need of a win, with the two-time AFC Champions League runners-up having had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor after an opening match 1-0 defeat to Al Ahli Saudi FC. The Iranian champions, however, have won four of their seven previous encounters against Al Sadd and will be hopeful of extending their record.
Al Sadd showed good form by scoring a 4-2 win over Al Shahania in Qatar Stars League match and it is certain that coach Sanchez is working to prepare the team for the strong match against Persepolis.
Qatar goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham also hoping for a good result against Iran side.
“A very difficult match awaits us, and we will do our best in order to appear strong,” said Barsham.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Al Rayyan SC will be desperate to end their losing run against clubs from Saudi Arabia when they play Al Ahli Saudi in the Group B match today.
Al Rayyan are still in search of their first points after suffering defeats to Al Hilal SFC and Al Nassr Club while Al Ahli have a perfect six points.
Al Rayyan will go into the tie on a high after registering the third win of their Qatar Stars League 2024-25 season with a 2-1 victory over Al Khor on Friday.
They have, however, a poor record in home matches against teams from Saudi Arabia, having won only once in seven games, with their only win being a 2-1 victory against Al-Hilal in March 2018.
Al Ahli Saudi FC are just one of two teams still with a perfect record in the West zone of the AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25 and cruised to a 3-0 win over Al Khaleej in a Saudi Pro League tie on Friday.
A win against Al Rayyan on Monday will only be their second in away matches against Qatari teams in the AFC Champions League (W1 D3 L5) and they have not kept a clean sheet in any of these games, conceding 15 goals.
The best eight clubs from each group (of 12 teams) will qualify for Round of 16, ahead of the knockouts, starting from the quarter-finals in Saudi Arabia from April 25 to May 4, 2025.