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Al Wahda and Al Jazira conclude first round with a high profile derby

The Etisalat Pro League first round away matches for the season 2012-2013 will be concluded with very important games including Al Wahda-Al Jazira high profile derby, which will be held on Saturday, December 15 at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, kick off at 8:00pm. In fact, the "derby" does not recognize any absences or any circumstances faced by the two rivals. “Al Wahda are in sixth place with 18 points, one point ahead of Al Shabab and Al Wasl while Al Jazira are sitting in third position with a record of 24 points, and a win in this clash will keep them in a state of chasing the leaders Al Ain. Both Al Wahda and Al Jazira had demonstrated brilliant performance in the previous round matches against Al Ain and Bani Yas respectively.

On the other hand, Al Shaab will host their counterparts Al Shabab in the same day at Khaled bin Mohamed Stadium at 4:45pm in a difficult game for both teams. It was noticed that the hosts in most of their previous games took the lead by the end of the first half, but surprisingly they came to lose in the second session. They are currently staying in 12th spot with 7 points whereas seventh-placed Al Shabab, who came up with a good display in the last rounds, have collected 17 points so far.

Both Al Ahli and Al Dhafra will play a tough game at Rashid Stadium after they shined in the last round and snatched valuable points. Al Dhafra surprised Al Nasr in round 12 with a solitary goal win and raised their tally to 14 points taking 10th position while Al Ahli made a good move following a deserved 2-1 victory over Ajman to jump to second place with 25 points, six points behind leaders Al Ain. A loss or a draw will widen the difference between them and Al Ain.

The second day of this round will witness four matches where Al Nasr face Al Ain at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai at 8:00pm. The visitors are on top of the standings with 31 points whereas the hosts are taking fifth spot with 22 points. The encounter seems to be difficult for both sides in the light of the disappointing results acquired by Al Nasr and the insistence of Al Ain to prove and confirm their worth as a hero for the winter.

Bani Yas and Al Wasl is the most important among the other remaining games when they meet at Al Shamkha Stadium in Abu Dhabi at 8:00pm. After losing two games in a row, Bani Yas must recover to increase their balance to 25 points which might put them among the four leading teams. Their opponents Al Wasl have 17 points and they must continue to be in their last shape and better their position before the end of the first round of the competition.

Two other games will take place in the same day where Dibba Al Fujairah face Ajman at Al Fujairah Stadium at 4:45pm and Ittihad Kalba battle it out against Dubai at Al Aweer Stadium at the same timing. Both Dibba Al Fujairah and Ajman lost in the last round to Kalba and Al Ahli respectively, and the game is a chance for both of them to achieve a good result before the end of the first round of the competition, on the grounds that the winter window transfer could see some changes in the two teams because of poor results they have achieved so far. Dibba Al Fujairah are located at the bottom of the table with only 4 points while Ajman are occupying the 11th place with 12 points. Dubai are sitting in 9th spot with 15 points while Kalba are second from bottom with only six points.

Some key players will miss this round including Subait Khatir (Al Jazira), Ismael Ahmed and Mohamed Abdulrahman (Al Ain), Basheer Saeed and Majed Hassan (Al Ahli), Fawzi Bashir (Al Dhafra) due to suspension, and Ismaeil Matar, Mahmoud Khamis, Amer Omar, Mohammed Al-Shaiba, Salem Saleh and Salem Jassim (Al Wahda) due to injury.