Match Report
Ario Eslamshahr went into the game 5th in the table on 58 points; Paykan sat 2nd on 61 — a 3-point gap. On recent form Ario Eslamshahr sat only 13th league-wide over the last five rounds, well short of their 5th overall. Per game in the league, Ario Eslamshahr were scoring 0.97 and conceding 0.53, Paykan 1.26 and 0.62, against a competition average of 0.88 goals per team per game.
Ario Eslamshahr had not lost in 15 games, having scored in 6 consecutive games. Paykan were unbeaten in 11.
Imam Khomeini Stadium in Arak, capacity 15,000, hosted the game. Half-time and full-time told different stories: Paykan led 1-0 at the break, before 1 more goal closed it at 0-2.