2021 ACL: Tractor Seeks to Improve Record against Uzbek Teams

The 2021 campaign will be Pakhtakor’s 15th involvement in Asia’s top club competition, a record matched by few teams across the continent. And throughout that journey, the Uzbek powerhouse has recorded some impressive results, including two semi-finals and two quarter-finals.

Wednesday’s Group B encounter at Sharjah Stadium is not the first between the two sides. Pakhtakor and Tractor had been pitted together in the 2016 AFC Champions League group stage, with Igor Sergeev winning the home match for Pakhtakor 1-0 before goals from Saeid Aghaei and Augusto helped Tractor respond with a 2-0 win in Tabriz. Ultimately, it was Tractor who topped the group that year, while Pakhtakor finished third and crashed out.

Since their departure from the 2020 AFC Champions League, Pakhtakor parted ways with Georgian coach Shota Arveladze who served for three years, appointing his assistant Pieter Huistra as new boss. The Dutchman had taken the reins for most of the previous edition of the competition while Arveladze fought COVID-19.

For Tractor, one of Iran’s most popular club sides, Wednesday’s match signals a return to the competition after two years of absence. Between 2013 and 2018 Tractor had been present in all but one campaign, 2017, with its best result being a Round-of-16 appearance in 2016.

Having finished bottom of its group in its most recent participation, Tractor is currently on a six-game winless run in the AFC Champions League, having last won against Dubai’s Al-Nasr SC five years ago.

The Tabriz-based side has faced Uzbek opponents on four occasions in the AFC Champions League, winning just once and losing three times, and its Matchday One fixture against Pakhtakor is an opportunity to improve that record.

The match will be held at the Sharjah Stadium in Sharjah.