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Three decisive games in the first day of the Etisalat Pro-League Competition

The Etisalat Pro-League Competition second Round matches will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday October 21st, 22nd and 23rd with three games being played on the first day, two on the following day and one game in the concluding day. The matches of this round were rescheduled by the Professional League Committee at the request of Abu Dhabi and Dubai Sports Channels.    

Sharjah, who are staying second from bottom with no points following their 0-3 loss to Al Wasl in the opening round of the league, are set to host defending champions Al Jazira on Friday at Sharjah Stadium, kick off at 5:05pm. Al Jazira are sitting on top of the ladder after humiliating Al Ahli in the first round with a 4-0 win.

The visiting team Al Jazira will try to come back with three valuable points to retain their leadership to the competition while the hosts will endeavor to compensate their first defeat and step forward in the league ranking. Both teams will field their most probables where Sharjah are led by Marcelo Oliveira, Edinho, Eman Mobali, Saeed Al Kas, Sulaiman Al Mughani, Abdul Aziz Sanqoor, Saeed Al Kas, Mohammad Suroor and Khamis Ahmad while Al Jazira will play with a line up including their best choice Brazilian player Ricardo Oliveira, Matías Delgado, Ibrahima Diaky, Subait Khatir, Lucas Neil, Khalid Sabeal, Ahmed Juma’a, Juma’a Abdulla and goalkeeper Khalid Essa. Sharjah are facing a big problem in goalkeeping after Mahmoud Al Mas has transferred to Al Ain and their second goalie Rashid Ahmed underwent a medical surgery. 

In the second game Al Nasr will take on Ajman at Al Maktoum Stadium at 5.05pm. Al Nasr are yet to open their account after losing their first week match to Al Ain with a 2-0 result, an outcome that put them in 10th position. Ajman are three steps ahead of their rivals with one point following a 1-1 draw against Bani Yas in the last round. They defeated Al Nasr 3-2 before two weeks in the Etisalat Cup.

The home squad Al Nasr had suffered a lot in their opening encounter against Al Ain last Sunday as they missed six players due to injury among whom were Carlos Tenero and Mark Breciano and their participation in tomorrow’s game is still doubtful. But at the same time they will not have their dynamic striker Ismail Bangoura who was shown the red card in the team’s match against Al Ain. Their lineup includes goalkeeper Abdullah Mousa, Linardo Lima, Humaid Abbas, Masoud Hassan, Ali Abbas, Badr Yaqoot, Saeed Mubarak, Talal Hamad and Salim Khamis.

Ajman have appeared in a good shape after demonstrating brilliant display and achieving positive results in the four rounds of the Etisalat Cup to collect 10 points from three victories and a lone draw that put them on top of Group “B” and they hope to shine also in the league championship. They are in 7th spot with a single point following their 1-1 draw with Bani Yas.

Al Ain are to travel to the capital Abu Dhabi to face their traditional rivals Al Wahda who beat them 2-1 in their first game in the Etisalat Cup. The visitors are taking second position in the league ranking on goal difference to Al Jazira as both teams have three points, while Al Wahda are staying in 8th place with no points. Al Ain will play full team and will have back their Argentinean striker Skoko who recovered recently from an injury in addition to Asamoah Gyan, Romanian Radio, Yasir Al Gahtani of Saudi Arabia, Ismail Ahmad, Musalam Fayez, Faris Juma’a, Mohammad Fayez, Abdul Aziz Fayez, Mohammad Malallah , Rami Yaslam, Ali Al Wihaibi, Salim Abdullah and goalie Walid Salim. The hosts will be led by Ismail Matar, Basheir Saeed, Brazilians Hugo, Magrao and Fernando Baino, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Al Shehhi, Omer Ali, Khalid Jalal, Essa Santo, Mahmoud Khamis and keeper Mutaz Abdullah. The home team will miss their Omani defender Mohammad Al Shaiba due to suspension.