Esteghlal Fixtures, Squad & Predictions

Esteghlal Tehran Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال استقلال تهران‎), commonly known as Esteghlal, is an Iranian football club based in capital Tehran, that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1945 as Docharkheh Savaran (Persian: دوچرخه سواران‎; meaning 'the bikers') and previously known as Taj Tehran Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال تاج تهران‎; meaning 'the crown') between 1949 and 1979. The club is part of the multisport club Esteghlal of Iran Athletic and Cultural Company (Persian: شرکت فرهنگی ورزشی استقلال ایران‎). They are the first team which got 1000 points in Persian Gulf Pro League. Since the beginning of the 1973–74 season, Esteghlal has played its home games at the Azadi which has a seating capacity of 78,116, though it is able to hold more people during important matches. Esteghlal set an attendance record for an Asian Club Championship match in 1999 when 125,000 supporters watched their final against Júbilo Iwata in Tehran. The club is owned and supported by the Ministry of Sport and Youth. Esteghlal is one of the largest teams in Iran And the third most proud team in Asia. Bering one of the oldest existing football clubs in Tehran and Iran, it carries a deep history in Iranian football. It is one of the most supported and successful clubs in Iranian football, having won two AFC Champions League trophies, eight national titles and a record of seven national cups. Esteghlal is also leading the all-time table of the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club's historical crest was holding a crown, giving the club its nickname Crown of Asia. Esteghlal holds a long-standing enmity with local rivals Persepolis known as the Sorkhabi (red-blue) derby or the Tehran derby.