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Al Wahda and Al Ain in a high profile Etisalat Cup 8th round match

The Etisalat Cup 8th round will be played on Wednesday and Thursday, January 16 and 17 with six important matches which might see the participation of new players who were signed by some clubs since the beginning of the winter transfer window. The competition will come to a halt after this round before restarting on February 1st with round 9.

Ajman and Al Ahli from Group “C” will meet in the first game at Rashid bin Saeed Stadium in Ajman; kick off at 5:05pm. The hosts are endeavoring to come out with a win to remain on top of the group after collecting 9 points so far from 4 games. But the match is of no importance for Al Ahli who have collected only two points that put them at the bottom of the group.

At the same above - mentioned timing, Al Nasr will host Al Shaab in Group “A” matches. The home team have a narrow chance to qualify to the semifinals after having a balance of only 5 points from five games.

The matches of the first day will be concluded with a crucial match in Group “B” where Al Wasl will take on Al Jazira at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai at 8:0pm.The host have lost their lead of the group last week after losing to Al Dhafra 2-3, to slip to third position with a tally of 9 points, while Al Jazira have added one point to their balance after a draw with Bani Yas in round 7 to raise their tally to 8 points. A win in this game, would put the winners at the top of the group at least temporarily.

Three matches will be played on Thursday, 17 January with Al Shabab facing Dibba Al Fujairah at Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium in Dubai at 05:05 pm. A win in this match will help Al Shabab to top Group “C” if Al Ahli hinder Ajman, while Dibba Al Fujairah’s task to qualify to the semifinals seems almost impossible.         

In the second match which will be held at the same timing, Ittihad Kalba will host their counterpart Al Dhafra in Group “B”. It is an important game for the home team as coming out with three points will put them at the forefront of the standings, unlike Kalba who do not care about the outcome of the match after collecting only 4 points so far.

The Abu Dhabi Emirate “Clasico” match which will be held at Al Nahyan Stadium at 8:00pm and comes at the end of this round, will put hosts Al Wahda in a tough match against their traditional contenders Al Ain. Both teams are competing for a berth in the semifinals through the first group as Al Wahda are sitting on top of the table after collecting 16 points from 6 games while Al Ain are runner-up with 11 points of 5 games. The visitors are required to come out with a positive result to reduce the difference of points bearing in mind that they have two matches in the next two remaining rounds of the preliminary stage, while Al Wahda have only one game at hand. Despite of the number of absentees in the two teams’ lineup, who some of them are in national duty with the UAE Senior National  Football Team who are currently taking part in the GCC championship in Bahrain, but such games do not recognize such absences.