All to play for as Lekhwiya face Persepolis today

Lekhiwya will have to walk a fine line between attack and defence when they take on Persepolis today in the second leg of their AFC Champions League Round of 16 encounter. The match, which will have a late start (10pm Qatar Time), will be played at the Al Sadd Stadium.
The Qatari side will be hoping that home ground advantage and the support of the fans will help them put in a better performance than what they had managed in the first leg. The previous encounter between the two teams, a week ago in Tehran, had ended goalless with Persepolis wasting a host of chances including failure to convert a penalty.
Lekhwiya will need to put that disappointing show behind them and play with more concentration and determination if they are to progress to the quarter-finals. But they will have to be careful because Persepolis can oust them on the basis of away goals.
Djamel Belmadi’s side have been handed a major boost ahead with key striker Yusef El Arabi resuming training. The Moroccan international striker had been absent for the last month with a shoulder injury, but can now play a part in the match against the Iranian champions. They will also have the services of young striker Al Moez Ali who is available to play after serving a one-game suspension.
Belmadi will be hoping that his playmaker Nam Tae-Hee puts in another influential performance. During the previous match Lekhwiya were forced to concede possession for long periods but the South Korean looked capable of causing damage whenever he picked up the ball—winning five free-kicks as Persepolis struggled to deal with his slippery attacking runs.
It was also Nam who created four of the five shooting opportunities which Lekhwiya enjoyed on the night, using his quick feet and vision to provide chances for his side when all else were failing.
With the home ground advantage, Lekhwiya will fancy their chances of being more dominant in the flow of the encounter and with Nam in this kind of form, they will certainly expect to create what could be decisive chances.
Lekhwiya are seeking to reach the AFC Champions League quarter-finals for the third time in five years. In their previous appearances in the last 16, they beat Al Hilal 3-2 on aggregate in 2013 and Al Sadd 4-3 in 2015, but lost 6-4 to El Jaish last year.
Along with Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, Guangzhou Evergrande of China and Kawasaki Frontale of Japan, Lekhwiya are one of four teams who are still unbeaten in this season’s tournament.
Meanwhile Persepolis are looking to enter the quarter-finals for the first time since the AFC Champions League was inaugurated in 2002.
The Tehran giants last reached the last eight of the premier club competition in Asia in 2001, when the club went on to finish third in the Asian Club Championship.
This year marks the fourth time in nine seasons the Iranian club has advanced to this stage of the competition and in each of the previous three occasions, Persepolis have been eliminated, most recently in 2015 when they were knocked out by Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
Persepolis striker Mehedi Taremi will be hoping to redeem himself after missing the penalty and a couple of other close chances.
Lekhwiya defence will have to deal with the threat of Taremi if they are to have a chance of emerging winners. They will be hoping that goalkeeper Qasem Burhan is able to put in a similar performance like in the last match, where he saved the penalty and made multiple crucial saves to keep his team in the tie.
It’s all to play for as Lekhwiya take the field today. Now to see if the players can deliver and ensure that Qatar continues to have representation in the tournament.


Factbox: Lekhwiya vs Persepolis
Lekhwiya SC
* This is the final game which the club are playing as Lekhwiya SC. They will merge with rivals El Jaish to become Al Duhail for the 2017-18 Qatar Stars League season.
* Lekhwiya are seeking to reach the AFC Champions League quarter-finals for the third time in five years. In their previous appearances in the last 16, they beat Al Hilal 3-2 on aggregate in 2013 and Al Sadd 4-3 in 2015, but lost 6-4 to El Jaish last year.
* Along with Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, Guangzhou Evergrande of China and Kawasaki Frontale of Japan, Lekhwiya are one of four teams who are still unbeaten in this season’s tournament.
* Lekhwiya have hosted Iranian clubs five times previously in the ACL, winning four games and losing 1-0 to Zobahan last year. They came from behind to beat Esteghlal Khouzestan 2-1 during this season’s group stage.
* Having conceded a goal in each of the three games he played for Lekhwiya during the group stage, goalkeeper Qasem Burhan kept his first clean sheet in the 0-0 draw with Persepolis when he saved a penalty.
* Forward Al Moez Ali is available after serving a suspension.

Persepolis FC
* Persepolis are attempting to reach the AFC Champions League quarter-finals for the first time after going out in the round of 16 three times previously. They lost 1-0 to Bunyodkor, 3-0 to Al Ittihad in 2012 and 3-1 on aggregate to Al Hilal in 2015.
* The 0-0 draw with Lekhwiya last week was their third in this season’s tournament following goalless stalemates against Al Rayyan and Al Hilal in the group stage.
* The 3-2 comeback win at UAE side Al Wahda in February in the only victory in their last six away games in the ACL, a sequence that includes four defeats and a draw.