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Al Ain endeavor to be crowned Champions in Qattara clasico

 

 

No voice can sound louder than the voice of the Al Ain - Al Jazira clasico match which comes within round 19 of the Etisalat Pro League Championship for this season and will be played at Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Stadium in Al Qattara in Al Ain city on Friday, April 27, kick off at 9.00pm.

The outcome of this game might put an end to the exciting race of the competition if Al Ain emerge winners, regardless of the results of the three remaining rounds as the hosts are currently classified  on top of the standings with 43 ​​points, while Al Jazira are taking  second place  with 35 points. A win for Al Jazira will reduce the difference of points to 5, and the league will go into another stage of struggle for the title, but a draw will keep the situation as it is and then Al Ain will be in need of one point later on to snatch the trophy.

The visitors will start the encounter with high morals after securing a berth in the last 16 of the 2012 Asian Champions League besides winning the President's Cup for the second time on a row after beating Bani Yas 3-1 in the final game. The home team will face their opponents with high concentration in order to complete the achievements which they began since the start of this season. They preferred competing in the Etisalat Pro League Champion of this season than in all other local competitions, to become the best team in defense with the least losses, as well as being the only team who did not suffer any defeat on their home ground.

Al Ain rely on the efforts of their Ghanaian player Asamoah Gyan who is leading the scorers' table with 17 goals, and in contrast, Al Jazira depend on their Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira, who comes in second position with 14 goals.

 Al Jazira's Brazilian coach Caio Junior is expected to play with a lineup including ​​Ali Khusaif as Goalkeeper, Juma'a Abdullah, Australian Lucas Neill, Salim Masoud and Abdullah Musa in the line of defense , Khamis Ismail, Subait  Khatir , Argentinean Delgado and Ibrahima Diaky as midfielders while the duo Brazilians Barry and Oliveira will lead the attacking line.

On the other hand, Al Ain's Romanian coach Olario Cozmin is likely to field in his best probable with Dawood Sulaiman as custodian, Ismail Ahmad, Mohanad Al Anzi, Faris Juma'a and Khalid Abdul Rahman in defense, Hilal Saeed, Argentinean Sccoco, Ali Wihaibi and Romanian Radoi in the midfield while the Saudi Yasser Al-Qahtani and Ghana's Gyan Asamoah will spearhead the front line.

In the first day of Round 19 matches scheduled for Thursday, April 26, the fourth-placed Al Shabab will host Emirates who are occupying 10th place, at 06:05 pm. The Emirates Team are in need of the three points to escape relegation which is threatening their fate along with Dubai and Sharjah, while Al Shabab are seeking to stay among the top four teams.

Bani Yas will meet hosts Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi derby due to kick off at 06:10pm. The two squads are expected to play a balanced game  especially that their positions on the table do not befit the reputation of the two big clubs, as Al Wahda were crowned champions two seasons ago, and Bani Yas were the  runners up of the last season league. The hosts, Al Wahda, have collected 24 points so far that put them in 7th place, while Bani Yas are sitting in 9th position with 20 points.

The matches of the first day of this round will be concluded with Dubai derby between Al Nasr and Al Wasl at Al Maktoum Stadium at the formers' club at 09pm.

The hosts will start the match with the ambitions to maintain third place initially and may even proceed to second place in case that Al Jazira lose to Al Ain , while Al Wasl will try to continue their previous positive result against Al Ain after demonstrating a brilliant display  in their match which ended with two goals each. Al Nasr are currently staying in third spot with 33 points, while Al Wasl are taking 6th place with 25 points.

Ajman will host Al Ahli in the second day in a match for both teams to improve their positions in the table where the formers are in 5th place with 27 points and aspire for more positive results, while Al Ahli are in 8th position with 22 points, and also aspire to preserve their last positive 5-2 result against Dubai.

In the concluding match, Dubai will travel to Sharjah and both teams are classified at the bottom of the standings with Dubai taking second place from the bottom with 11 points, one point ahead of Sharjah, who are occupying the last spot with 10 points and both teams are trying to win as a draw will not serve either of them.