MELBOURNE, Australia - Iran and the United Arab Emirates can all but ensure themselves of advancing to the Asian Cup quarterfinals, while Bahrain and Qatar are playing to survive in Group C on Thursday.Heres some things to watch:___QATAR VS. IRAN (0900 GMT): Three-time Asian Cup champion Iran showed why its the favourite to top Group C after a powerful display of speed and strength against Bahrain.2014 Gulf Cup champion Qatar, meanwhile, will need to draw on all its resolve to recover from an error-riddled 4-1 loss to the United Arab Emirates, when mistakes by goalkeeper Qasem Burhan contributed to at least two goals.Ehsan Hajsafi was the standout for Iran in its 2-0 win in Melbourne.The Iranians will be the clear favourites to beat Qatar in Sydney, but recent history shows it will not be a formality.Iran has lost just once to Qatar in 10 matches since 2007, but the fact that five of them ended in a draw is a more telling statistic.Thursdays game will be just the second time the two teams have met at the Asian Cup. Iran won the previous match 2-0 in 1988.Despite the background, Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said Qatar would start as favourite following its title in the recent Gulf Cup.We know that we face a well-prepared and motivated Qatar team after their success in the Gulf Cup, he said. Queiroz said. We aim to be the best team on the pitch and win the match.Irans star striker Reza Ghoochannejhad says while his side is under a lot of pressure to continue to perform at the tournament, it is ready for the challenge.Everybody is excited to play against Iran, and everybody is motivated, especially because we are coming from the World Cup, but this is the situation right now we cant complain, we cant make excuses, he said.Iran has lost just one of its past 15 Asian Cup matches, winning nine.___BAHRAIN VS. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (0700 GMT): Fresh from a 4-1 win over Qatar, the United Arab Emirates will be virtually assured of a quarterfinals spot with a win over another Gulf rival Bahrain in Canberra.The win will be no formality, however, after Bahrain put up a spirited challenge to regional powerhouse Iran in a 2-0 loss at Melbourne on Sunday.The UAE and Iran share the Group C lead with three points each after their opening wins.Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout scored two goals each in the UAEs dominant opening performance, while playmaker Omar Abdulrahman was dangerous in midfield.This was the key game for us, UAE coach Mahdi Ali said. The first step gives players motivation and confidence for the second game ... from tomorrow we work harder.Bahrain striker John Okwunwanne constantly troubled Iran in their opener, and Sami Al Hussaini demonstrated that he wont be overawed by the tournaments big name players.In the six matches theyve played against each other since 2004, the UAE has won the past three, while Bahrain has won two.UAE has never won its opening two games at an Asian Cup. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . The 28-year-old from Rochester, Alta., was selected by the Redblacks from the Saskatchewan Roughriders roster in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept. https://www.chinajerseysnfl.us/., will experience this week. A year in which the Canadian curling championship has been pushed forward a week to accommodate the Winter Olympics was deemed the perfect chance to stage the event in Montreal for the first time since 1979. NFL Jerseys China . 31-Feb. 2. While organizers havent decided if itll be red or green clay, they feel their choice of surface will give the Americans an advantage over Britain, which is expected to be led by defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. Nike NFL Jerseys China . It was considered unlikely that Rielly would be loaned to Canada for the tournament, which begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden, though a stretch of three straight games in the press box made it something of a debate.HOUSTON -- Jay Bruce got off to a slower than expected start this season. He soon warmed up, and with the post-season approaching, the Cincinnati slugger certainly isnt slowing down. Bruce hit a grand slam and had five RBIs, Mike Leake pitched eight scoreless innings and the Reds cruised to a 10-0 win over Houston on Tuesday night, handing the Astros their 100th loss. The home run was Bruces 30th, giving him at least 30 homers in three straight seasons. His performance pushed his RBI total to 100, which is a career high. "Thirty home runs is almost automatic if he stays healthy because thats his swing," manager Dusty Baker said. "But it was great to see him get his 100 RBIs, especially with the fact that he started off struggling in the RBI department. "We had (Sin-Soo) Choo on all the time and we had Joey (Votto) on all the time and he had quite a few chances. Now hes cashing them in and hopefully it continues into the playoffs." Cincinnati is 4 1/2 games ahead of Washington for second NL wild card. The Astros are the first major league team to lose at least 100 games in three straight seasons since Kansas City from 2004-06. "Im always going to concentrate on the things we need to do to improve," Houston manager Bo Porter said when asked about losing 100 games. "I dont concern myself with what it is people are going to say. I concern myself about the men in that clubhouse and how were going to get better every day." The Reds got to work early, with Zack Cozart driving in two runs in a four-run first inning. Cincinnati was up by five in the fourth before Bruces towering slam to the Crawford Boxes in left field pushed the lead to 9-0 and chased Jordan Lyles (7-8). Leake (14-6) allowed five hits over eight innings and struck out six with two walks. Sean Marshall, who hadnt pitched since May 20 because of shoulder tendinitis, threw a perfect ninth to complete the shutout. The Reds tagged Lyles for nine hits and nine runs in 3 1-3 innings. The Astros, who have the worst record in the majors, fell to 51-100. They were 56-106 in 2011 and dropped to 55-107 last year, their final season in the National League. With a rookie-filled team and the lowest payroll in the majors, the Astros have had plenty of lopsided games this year. But even in an already dismal year,, the night they eclipsed the century mark yet again was particularly ugly.dddddddddddd Things went downhill quickly for the Astros. Lyles had a two-base error when he fielded a high-bouncing grounder hit by Brandon Phillips and badly overthrew first base with one out in the first. An RBI single by Bruce made it 1-0. Xavier Paul walked to load the bases and Todd Fraziers single pushed the lead to 2-0. Cozart wrapped up the scoring in that inning with a two-RBI single to make it 4-0. The bottom of the first didnt go any better for Houston. Jonathan Villar hit a leadoff single, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. But it wasnt just that he was thrown out, but the way he was thrown out that was embarrassing. Villar slid into second base, but Phillips already had the ball before he began the slide. The always flamboyant Phillips reached backward between his legs to apply the tag as Villar crashed head-first into Phillips backside. "Thats the way I play," Villar said. "Im aggressive. I was trying to make something happen, motivate my team. Its hard to change because thats the way Ive always played." Phillips said he wasnt trying to showboat, and he initially didnt realize that Villar was coming. "The crowd let me know that he was coming to second base," Phillips said. "I just had to quickly put the tag between my legs. Thats the only reason I tagged him. If I didnt hear the crowd, I would have just caught it and looked around and he would have been safe." However, he probably could have tagged him in a less showy way. "Thats me," he said with a laugh. "I do things off the wall, yes." Baker laughed when asked about the play. "Ask Brandon," he said. "I think he gets bored sometimes." Cozart added an RBI single in the third to extend Cincinnatis lead to 5-0. Derrick Robinson walked with no outs in the fourth inning before Shin-Soo Choo drew a walk. A one-out walk by Votto loaded the bases to set up the slam by Bruce, which chased Lyles. It was his first grand slam since Sept. 5, 2008. NOTES: The series wraps up on Wednesday when Houstons Brad Peacock opposes Greg Reynolds. ... Votto extended his hitting streak at Minute Maid Park to 23 games, which is the longest by a player in the parks history. ' ' '