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Al Jazira and Al Wahda face Al Ahli and Al Ain in tough games

 

Two tough encounters will be played in the first day of Round 15 of the Etisalat Pro-League Competition when Al Ain host their traditional rivals Al Wahda on Thursday March 31st at 5:45pm at Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Stadium in Qattara and leaders Al Jazira battle it out against Dubai-based Al Ahli at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The matches will continue on Friday with Al Dhafra travelling to Dubai to face the home team Al Wasl at 5:50pm and hosts Al Shabab taking on their city rivals Al Nasr in the second match of the day at 8:30pm. This round will be concluded on next Saturday with two games when Kalba face the visiting team Bani Yas and Dubai meet Sharjah at 5:45pm and 8:30pm respectively.

Al Ain, second from bottom with only 11 points, are in a critical situation and they are still lying in the relegation zone. They failed to maintain a single win in the Etisalat Pro-League Competition for almost seven months as their last positive result was on September 3 when they beat Al Nasr 3-0 in the second week. Their players were encouraged and boosted by the newly-appointed Board of Directors headed by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan. Sheikh Abdullah and the council four members followed the team's last training sessions to give the players self-confidence. Speaking to the players, Sheikh Abdullah called on them to increase their efforts and work as one family as they are facing big challenges in the forthcoming stage at both the local and continental levels. "We want you to play with high concentration and great confidence when you face Al Wahda. We admit that our situation is critical and therefore winning three more points will help our team to step forward and better its position", Sheikh Abdullah said.

On the other hand Al Ain's Romanian player Valentine will play tomorrow his first game since he joined the team. He underwent a jaw surgical operation recently which forced him to stay away for almost three weeks.

The visiting team and defending champions Al Wahda, are currently out of contention as they have collected only 19 points so far that see them in 8th spot. They have 19 points and they are lying 17 points behind leaders Al Jazira, a difference which makes their stint more difficult to regain the league title. They will play two tough matches in the coming days when they host Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia next Tuesday April 5 in the third round of the  2011 Club AFC Champions League followed by the "Derby" game against Al Jazira in the President's Cup final due to kick off on April 11.

Al Jazira's league leadership with 36 points will be under test when they face Al Ahli tomorrow at 8:30pm. Al Ahli are classified in 4th place with 22 points The two teams ended their first round match with a 2-2 draw. The home squad will have back their midfielder Subait Khatir who did not play in week 14 game against Al Wahda due to suspension and no doubt his participation will strengthen his team's midfield zone along with Brazilian Delgado and Ibrahima Diaky. Ahmad Khalil will also come back to Al Ahli's line up after recovering from injury to form a dual in the front line with his brother Faisal.

Al Wasl, who have lost their chance and failed to compete in all local competitions this season, will try their best to come out with three points when they meet visitors Al Dhafra on Friday April 1st. They gained one point when they held hosts Bani Yas to a goalless draw in their last game at Al Shamkha pitch to raise their tally to 21 points that put them in 5th place. Al Wasl's player Yeste from Spain has recovered from injury and is likely to take part in this game along with Essa Ali and Fadil Ahmad after serving their suspension for one game.

Al Dhafra lost to Al Shabab at home last time with a lone goal to remain in the relegation zone with 12 points.

Third-placed Al Shabab with 23 points who were the most beneficiary team in round 14, are to go into a strong tie on Saturday at their ground against Al Nasr who are only three points behind their rivals taking 7th position.

Kalba came close to snatch three points in their previous match against Al Ahli, but a last-minute goal scored by Ismail Al Hammadi dashed their hopes. They played brilliantly and they hope to demonstrate the same technical standard when they host second-placed Bani Yas on Saturday. The hosts are still staying at the bottom of the table with only 8 points while Bani Yas are seven points behind Al Jazira.

Dubai and Sharjah will play the concluding match of week 14 on April 2nd when they meet at the formers' pitch. The hosts held Al Nasr in the last round to a 1-1 draw whereas the visitors overcame Al Ain 2-1. Sharjah are taking 6th spot while Dubai are in 9th position with 13 points.