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AFC Champions League Match Day 4 Preview: Three UAE teams travel

With just a week since the last AFC Champions League match days, the participating UAE teams are back in midweek action this Tuesday and Wednesday, with three of our four sides facing trips overseas in the return fixtures from last week’s games.

Al Ain are the first UAE team to kick off on Match Day 4 as they travel to Al Rayyan in Qatar at 7:40pm (UAE time) on Tuesday. Having won the home fixture 2-1 at the Tahnoun bin Mohamed Stadium last Wednesday with goals from Jires Kembo-Ekoko and Alex Brosque, Al Ain are now poised in 2nd place in Group D on six points, just one point behind leaders Esteghlal of Iran. An away win would cement Al Ain’s chances of qualifying to the last 16 of the competition, and they will hope to get another three points on the board from this game.

Al Shabab also play on Tuesday, getting underway at 9pm (UAE time) at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahad Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, as they face Al Ettifaq for the second time in six days. The reverse fixture at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium last Wednesday ended in a 1-0 win for Al Shabab thanks to Nasser Masood’s late goal, and Marcos Paqueta’s men will look to do the double over Al Ettifaq as they try to improve their chances of qualifying from Group B, in which they currently sit 3rd on 3 points behind leaders Lekhwiya of Qatar on 7 points and second-placed Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan on 6 points.

On Wednesday Al Nasr visit Al Gharafa’s stadium in Doha, Qatar at 7:30pm (UAE time), having lost last week’s home fixture 4-2. The defeat leaves Al Nasr’s qualification hopes looking bleak as they sit bottom of Group C with no points to their name, but all is not lost just yet and Walter Zenga is sure to send his men out fighting to make amends for last Tuesday’s disappointment and pick up their first points of the group stages.

Al Jazira are the only UAE side to play on home turf this round, as they welcome Qatar’s El Jaish to the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi at 7:40pm on Wednesday. The Abu Dhabi-based team had an unsuccessful trip to Doha last Tuesday, finishing on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline, so Luis Milla’s players will be keen to make amends at their home ground as they attempt to lift themselves off the bottom of Group A and increase their current points total of just 1 out of a possible 9.