Hope for Persepolis, Not for Esteghlal

Football giants Persepolis and Esteghlal will play the second leg of quarterfinal matches in the AFC Champions League against Qatari rivals while the Reds hope to avenge Al-Duhail at home at Azadi Stadium and the Blues, shocked by the 3-1 loss to Al Sadd in Tehran, need a miracle to advance.
Persepolis suffered a 1-0 loss to Qatari side on August 28 in Doha, but its hope of reaching the semis is stronger than Esteghlal which will play the away match in Doha.
According to the match statistics, despite losing, Persepolis almost kept up with Al-Duhail in the game statistics: each side made 19 fouls and Persepolis with 10 shots to the Qataris’ box was ahead compared to nine from Al-Duhail. But corner kicks superiority was with the host 4 to 3 as well as ball possession with 58% to 42%.