Tehran Times - Persepolis head coach Branko Ivankovic believes that his side’s sole objective in the biggest game of Iran Professional League is to win it.
“This is the most important game of Iran Professional League with hundreds of millions of supporters so there is already a lot of motivation for the player to show their best on the pitch,” Branko told reporters in the Tehran derby pre-match press conference.
“Both teams have earned this match with a couple of successive wins in the previous games. Esteghlal have booked their place in the AFC Champions League Group stage after the win against Al-Sadd on penalties so they are quite motivated to continue their winning run,” the Croatian coach added
“Esteghlal are in a better situation compared to the first leg match. They have changed their starting line-up with young motivated players but we have only one goal and that is to win the match. We deserve to be at the top and I promise our fans to make every effort to win the derby on Sunday,” Branko added.
Persepolis are top of the IPL table with 47 points, 13 points clear of Esteghlal.