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Bani Yas v Al Ahli Pre-Match Press Conferences

Bani Yas head coach Josef Chovanec foresees a tight contest on Monday as his second-placed side go head-to-head with Al Ahli, who sit just one place and two points behind them in the Etisalat Pro League standings. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Czech coach highlighted the likes of Brazilian striker Grafite and Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma as particular threats amongst a strong group of tenacious Al Ahli players, who put in a good shift against Al Ain in the last round. “The match can be described as a six-pointer because we are so close to one another in the table and if we win we will stay in second place, but if we lose we will drop to third. We will definitely be fighting to take all three points,” Chovanec said. “Our goalkeeper Mohammed Ali Ghuloom will miss out through injury, and I have not yet decided whether to play Amer Abdulrahman, Thamer Mohammed or Mohamed Jaber as they have both suffered from injuries recently, so I will wait until the last minute to decide who is ready to participate,” he added.

Al Ahli’s head coach Quique Flores was keen to allay fears that recent off-the-field events relating to his side’s last game have distracted the players, insisting that the spirit in the dressing room is good. Flores noted in his pre-match press conference that Bani Yas is a very talented team, which has developed and made great progress in recent times, and Al Ahli will have to be at their best in order to get a result from the game. Lebanese defender Yousif Mohammed will miss out due to injury, giving young local player Saad Surour the chance to prove himself in the starting lineup.