Asamoah Gyan, Al Ain’s prolific striker, has sounded a note of caution ahead of today’s Asian Champions League return fixture against Tractor Sazi in Tabriz, Iran.
The UAE champions defeated their Iranian opponents 3-1 at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium two weeks ago to move top of Group C, although Tractor’s performance suggested they will pose more of a threat in front of their own crowd.
Al Ain, seventh in the Arabian Gulf League, have focused their efforts on successfully negotiating the Champions League group stages, and victory against Tractor could leave them requiring only a point to progress.
“It won’t be as easy because Tractor are at home and will be expected to show their best,” said Gyan, joint top of the tournament’s goal scoring charts with four goals.
“They were a good opponent at our stadium and we know they’ll be better than that. They’ll try to compensate for the loss in the UAE.
“We must keep our concentration at all times, so we can stop their attacks. We have to then make the most of our chances to return with a positive result and enhance our chances of qualifying for the next stage.”
Al Ain are expected to recall to their starting line-up Alex Brosque and Mirel Radio, with Ibrahim Diaky missing the match through suspension.
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