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Al Ain v Dubai Pre-Match Press Conferences

Al Ain head coach Cosmin Olaroiu thanked the Pro League Committee and Dubai Club for agreeing to bring their Etisalat Pro League Round 22 fixture forward by a day from Friday to Thursday 18th April, kick-off 7:25pm, in order to allow adequate preparation time for their trip to Saudi Arabia to take on Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Cosmin said: “If we win against Dubai, we will successfully retain our League title, and we will become the first team to win the League twice in succession since the formation of the Pro League. Then we will be able to turn our attention to our next games in the AFC Champions League and focus all our efforts on doing well in that competition.” Speaking about his side’s opponents, the Romanian added: “Dubai are a well-organised team and you need good quality players to be able to face them. We need to employ a high level of concentration to get a positive result from this game and then leave to Al Hilal in high spirits.”

Dubai’s head coach Rene Marsiglia revealed that the club were happy to agree to Al Ain’s request to play the match a day earlier so as to support a fellow UAE team competing in an important continental competition, for the benefit of UAE football in general. The Frenchman noted that Al Ain possess players of exceptional quality and it will be a tough game for his Dubai side. “We have conducted light training in preparation for the match to make sure the players are physically ready after our last match. Unfortunately we may have lost Richard Porta for a considerable time due to an injury, but Mohamed Ismail will return to the team,” Marsiglia confirmed.