Team Melli will play its second match in Group C of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 against Hong Kong at 20:30 local time today. Following Iran’s 4-1 win against Palestine, this match will be the confirmation of qualification to the next round in case of a win.

Shoja’a Khalilzadeh has been added to the injury list of Team Melli after the central defender received a knock in the match against Palestine. He is not available for tonight’s match and his replacement will be Seyed Majid Hosseini.

Mehdi Torabi who was not included in the Palestine match due to an injury, is also available for selection by the coaches.

Khalilzadeh is not the only change in the expected lineup as two key players are available and will most probably start the game. After fully recovering from his slight injury, Ramin Rezaiean will be one of the starters. The right winger played a few minutes in the previous game and showed no sign of any problems.

Also, Sardar Azmoun will be starting the game along with Mehdi Taremi. Karim Ansarifard will return to the bench. Azmoun was the last player to join the squad, hence Ghalenoei opted to use him in the second half against Palestine.

Against Hong Kong, there is also a possibility of a change in the middle of the field, where Team Melli lacks dynamism and energy with Saman Ghoddos taking the full burden. The defensive midfield needs to be better equipped, hence the chances of dropping the ineffective Ezatollahi are quite high.