The absence of star pair Omar Abdulrahman and Asamoah Gyan means Al Ain face an uphill struggle to come away from the trying AFC Champions League trip to Group B leaders Pakhtakor with victory.
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Neither has travelled to Uzbekistan because of injuries originally picked up in Friday’s 1-1 Arabian Gulf League draw at Al Dhafra.
The continental competition’s reigning top scorer Gyan damaged a hamstring during the warm-up and has since picked up an infection, with ‘Amoori’ suffering bruising in a challenge from Humam Tariq.
With veteran midfielder Helal Saeed and left-back Mohammed Fayez also sidelined, it means last year’s semi-finalists have it all to do to secure a first win in this edition.
Not in the team for the trip to Tashkent to face Pakhtakor. Wishing my @alainfcae teammates the best of luck: http://t.co/Ctq0ChIQVM
— ASAMOAH GYAN (@ASAMOAH_GYAN3) March 17, 2015
“We aim to give a good performance and would take a point, but we look only for a victory,” said coach Zlatko Dalic. “Pakhtakor are in first position and they are a strong team. We have more games and all will become clear in the last matches. We are playing every three or four days, so it is not easy to always have good form.”
The 2003 ACL winners are third following draws at home to Al Shabab Riyadh and away to Iran’s Naft Tehran.
Three points will see them move up the standings, but they have failed to triumph away in Uzbekistan in two previous attempts – the last visit a 3-2 loss at today’s opponents in 2010.
This match represents arguably the toughest test of a taxing Group B. Pakhtakor are the reigning domestic champions and sit two points clear at the top of their ACL section after beating Naft 2-1 and drawing 2-2 at Shabab.
