With their sixth successive league title already secured, Pakhtakor’s mission for the remainder of the season is to avoid defeat and they remained on track to accomplishing this thanks to a 58th minute winner from Alexander Geynrikh.

The Uzbek international’s strike was enough to give the ’Cotton Pickers’ their 25th win in 29 games and with only a home match against second-from-bottom Metallurg remaining, Pakhtakor are likely to see out the season without a loss.

But Ravshan Haydarov’s side will take nothing for granted against the team from Bekabad after goal in each half from Mirgolib Raimov cancelled out Tulkin Mirzaev’s 16th minute opener in Metallurg’s 2-1 win over Tupalang.

The race for second-place – and a possible berth in next year’s AFC Champions League – will go right down to the wire after Kuruvchi lost 2-1 to Locomotive and Mash’al edged Bukhoro courtesy of Viktor Klishin’s 17th minute strike.

With one round remaining Masha’l are on 67 points, one behind Kuruvchi who take on Pakhtakor in the Uzbekistan Cup final on December 9.

If Pakhtakor defeat Kuruvchi and do the double for the sixth successive season then the Uzbekistan league runners-up will join the Tashkent giants in next year’s AFC Champions League.

Elsewhere in round 29, Neftchi and Samarqand Dynamo won 2-1 at home against Andijan and Shurtan respectively while Nasaf recorded an identical winning result in their away clash with Vobkent.

Finally, a 26th minute goal from Vladimir Baranov was enough to give 1996 Uzbekistan champions Navbakhor a 1-0 away victory over Qyzylqum.

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