Harambee Stars will be back in action tonight when they take on Iran at 8 PM EAT, a fixture that will be played at the Azadi Stadium in Iran. The current coach Engin Firat traveled with a team of 24 players in his squad and it will be interesting to find out which one of them will make it to his first eleven tonight. The team has gone for 500 days without action as Kenya faced a Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) ban after the Kenyan government interfered with running the affairs of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), a move that FIFA has zero tolerance to. Ten of the 11 players that started Kenya's last match, the 2-1 win over Rwanda, are in contention for a starting berth tonight, with only James Saruni the only exclusion. 

In all matches that the Turkish manager has overseen, only four players have started in each and every one of them. Captain Michael Olunga, midfielder Kenneth Muguna, and the defensive duo of Aboud Omar and Joseph Okumu are the only players to feature in all the matches Engin has been in charge of. On the post, Engin has featured four different goalkeepers in the four matches that he has taken charge of.  For his debut match against Mali, he fielded Ian Otieno who picked up an injury that saw Farouk Sikhalo come in during the second half. In the reverse fixture, he took Brian Bwire who paved way for James Saruni in the game against Rwanda that was played at the Nyayo Stadium. It is worth noting that none of the four stoppers kept a clean sheet in the four matches. There is a very high likelihood that Patrick Matasi will be the preferred number one between the posts tonight. 

Omar has always been preferred as the left-back defender at the expense of Erick Marcelo Ouma and it is speculated that the same could continue even in tonight's match. Daniel Anyembe who is new to the squad is anticipated to play as the right-back while Brian Mandela and Okumu will take their usual positions as the center-back. In midfield, Richard Odada who has played in three of the four games is not expected to be left out of the starting eleven tonight and will play alongside Kenneth Muguna and Amos Nondi. Muguna will play at the front as Nondi and Odada form a double pivot behind him. 

Erick Marcelo Ouma has previously been deployed as a left winger by Firat and could also continue in the same role tonight. He is the only preferred candidate as there is no outright left winger in the team that traveled. Abuya Duke will most likely play as the right wing while the star of the team Michael Olunga will be the one leading upfront in the hunting of goals.