Saipa charge towards last eight

The Iranian champions have a three-point lead in Group B after their 1-0 win over the Iraqi club in Kuwait City two weeks ago and another victory at Enghlab Stadium could virtually seal a place in the knockout stage.

And Daei, who led Saipa to the domestic title in his first season in charge of the Karaj-based club, is confident they can get the job done in front of their home fans.

“If we win our home games we will almost certainly win the group,” said the Iranian legend, who will step down as Saipa boss after the group stage to focus on his duties as Iran national coach.

“We have the chance to win the group and we’re going into the match to get all three points and ease some of the pressure.”

With Saipa languishing in 12th in the Iran Pro League after consecutive 2-0 losses to Sanat Naft and Bargh, the team appear to have turned their attention solely on the AFC Champions League.

However, they will have to make do without defender Kazem Bozcheloo and midfielder Majid Gholamnejad because of suspension, while midfielder Javad Ashtiani has been sidelined by injury.

Defeat for Al Quwa Al Jawiya would put them out of the running for a place in the last eight but coach Hamid Salman remains bullish about their chances of advancing.

“We’re the second best team in the group right now but if we win in Iran, we will have a great chance of reaching the quarter-finals,” he said.

“Saipa will be looking to take advantage of playing at home in front of their fans but this will not be a problem for us because we know we must win to get back on track.”

The Iraqis have been severely weakened by the absence of defender Hussein Ali and forward Yassir Abdul Muhsen through injury, while striker Ali Mansour, who scored the winner in their 1-0 win over Al Wasl, has immigration problems.

But Salman still feels they can achieve the outcome they desire after a week-long training camp in Iran.

“We were unlucky in the last game as we should have got a point but Saipa held on for the win,” he added.

“We had a training camp in Iran and hopefully the period we spent here will help us to get a good result on Wednesday.”