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Al Wahda host Al Jazira on Friday in a tough encounter

All 12 professional teams are set to battle it out when they play their second round of the Etisalat Cup on Thursday and Friday this week. Four games will take place tomorrow with Bani Yas hosting Ajman, Al Wasl facing Emirates, Al Nasr taking on their city rivals Al Shabab and Al Ahli playing at their home ground against Al Sharjah. The round will be completed the following day when Dubai face visitors Al Ain and Al Wahad, winners of the Super Cup, are to tackle it out in a tough match at AL Nahyan Stadium against bilateral Champions Al Jazira holders of the Etisalat Pro-League and the President's Cup for the previous season.

Both Al Wahda and Al Jazira are playing in Group "A" and their match is expected to be the match of the week due to the deep-rooted competition between them. The two squads emerged winners in their first round game as Al Jazira beat Al Wasl 4-3 in a strong match marred by brilliant display to top the standings while Al Wahda overcame their traditional rivals Al Ain with a 2-1 victory.

This round's matches will be the last appearance for the local professional players who will join the UAE National Team to get ready for their match against South Korea next month in the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The home Al Wahda team will be led by their stars Ismail Mattar, Brazilian Hugo, Saeed Al Katheri, Basheir Saeed, Omer Ali, Magraow, Khalid Jalal, Yaagoub Al Hosani, Saeed Khamis, goalkeeper Motaz Abdullah, Essa Santo, Mohammad Al Shehhy and Amer Omer. Al Jazira hope to beat Al Wahda and avenge their loss in the Super Cup match. A win will help them to raise their tally to six points and keep their leading position on top of the ladder, the same that for Al Wahda. Al Jazira's line up will include Ibrahima Diaky, Bary, Oliveira, Delgado, and Lucas Neil in addition to Khalid Essa, Juma'a Abdullah, Abdul Salam Juma'a, Abdul Rahim Juma'a, Saleh Basheir, Subait Khatir, Khalid Sabil, Ahmad Juma'a, Abdullah Gasim and Salim Masaud.

In Thursday's matches Bani Yas will face Ajman at the formers' pitch in Al Shamkha. Ajman are seeking to add three more points after surprising Al Ahli in the first week game beating them 3-1 while the hosts will try to compensate for their big 1-4 loss last week to Al Shabab.

In the second game of tomorrow's program, Al Wasl who lost their first encounter 3-4 to Al Jazira under the guidance of their Argentinean legend Diego Maradona, will take on Emirates at Rashid Stadium at 5:30pm who also faced the same fate after a 1-2 defeat by Dubai.  Al Ahli will play Sharjah at Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium tomorrow at 8:30pm and Al Nasr will meet Al Shabab in the concluding match of the day at Dubai Sports and Cultural Stadium, kick off at 8:30pm. Al Shabab are on top of Group "B" with three points on goal difference from Ajman who are placed as runner up. Al Nasr and Sharjah are in 3rd and 4th positions respectively with a single point each  while Al Ahli and Bani Yas are at the bottom of the table and are yet to open their account.  

Al Ain will face Dubai on Friday at Dubai Sports and Cultural Stadium at 5:30pm. The hosts are in 3rd spot with three points following their 2-1 win over Emirates while the visitors Al Ain are second from bottom with no points.