Match Report
On the table this was a mismatch: Esteghlal (1st, 41 pts) held a 16-point advantage over Esteghlal Khuzestan (11th, 25 pts). Esteghlal Khuzestan had been over-performing their table position on recent form: 6th in the league over the last five rounds against 11th overall.
6 previous meetings sit in the GioScore records — Esteghlal 4, draws 0, Esteghlal Khuzestan 2, at 2 goals per meeting. Home advantage is real in this fixture: whoever hosted won 83% of the meetings. These meetings skew tight — only 17% saw more than two goals. Recent meetings have been cagier — 1.2 goals per game across the last five against 2 historically.
Goal scorers
Esteghlal: S. Fallah (56')