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Etisalat Pro League Round 22 Preview

Less than a week after a goal-infested round of Etisalat Pro League action, all fourteen teams will be back playing for their League positions in Round 22 from Thursday 18th to Saturday 20th April. This weekend’s matches could see the Champions-elect officially crowned, whilst the battle to beat the drop looks like it will go to the wire.

The first game of Round 22 kicks off at a rescheduled time of 7:25pm on Thursday at the Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium, and all eyes will be on Al Ain as a win over their opponents Dubai will take them to 58 points in 1st place, making it mathematically impossible for Al Ahli or Bani Yas to catch them in the title race. Although the crowning ceremony will not take place until the end of the season, there is certain to be a celebratory atmosphere in Al Ain if they can secure the three points and officially take the 2012-2013 title with four League games to spare. The game was moved forward by a day, with mutual agreement from Dubai Club and approval from the Pro League Committee, to allow Al Ain an extra day’s preparation ahead of their AFC Champions League fixture away at Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

On Friday evening at 6:10pm, 8th-placed Al Dhafra take on 12th-placed Al Shaab at the Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium, with the visitors scrapping for every point they can gather as they vie to secure their place in the Etisalat Pro League for another season. Last round’s 2-1 win over Ajman gives them a three-point cushion above the drop zone as well as renewed belief that they can stay up. Al Dhafra played out a 2-2 draw with Dubai in Round 21, with Senegalese striker Makhete Diop bagging a brace, so he will hope to keep up his scoring form in the next match.

Friday night’s late game sees Al Nasr travel to Dibba Al Fujairah, kicking off at 8:30pm. Walter Zenga’s men are in the midst of a hectic schedule incorporating nine matches in a month, but fatigue didn’t get the better of the Blue Wave as they recorded a last-gasp 1-0 win away at Al Wahda on Sunday night to lift them up to 4th in the League. Dibba Al Fujairah are giving it all they’ve got in the fight for Etisalat Pro League survival, coming from behind to defeat Al Wasl 3-2 at the Zabeel Stadium in their last game. Dr. Abdullah Misfer’s squad are playing for their lives as they occupy 13th place and are now just three points off safety, and their recent impressive results against Al Ain, Al Jazira and Al Wasl will give them hope that they can pull their way out of danger in the remaining five games of the season.

On Saturday at 6pm, Ajman face Bani Yas at the Rashid bin Saeed Stadium, with both teams coming into the game off the back of Round 21 defeats. Ajman let go of a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 against Al Shaab, whilst Bani Yas were on the end of a heavy 4-1 defeat at home to Al Ahli, slipping down a spot to 3rd in the League as a result. Ajman, who currently sit 11th, could move up two places to 9th with a win depending on other results, and they will be hoping their prolific target man Boris Kabi can add to his 18-goal haul, which puts him third in the League’s top scorers list. Bani Yas meanwhile will want to forget their last game and put in a more characteristically impressive performance to secure a win.

Also getting underway at 6pm, Al Wasl host Al Shabab in a Dubai derby at the Zabeel Stadium as they look to bounce straight back from a disappointing 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Dibba Al Fujairah on Sunday. Al Wasl started well, going ahead with the fastest goal of the season so far after just 11 seconds, but they let their lead slip and Eid Baroot will hope to put things right in the next match. 6th-placed Al Shabab thrashed Al Jazira 5-1 on Monday and will be brimming with confidence off the back of such an emphatic victory, so Al Wasl will need to tighten up their defensive frailties if they wish to keep Al Shabab’s fluid attacks at bay.

At 6:05pm Al Jazira’s game against bottom side Kalba will kick off at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, with head coach Luis Milla still in search of his first League win since taking charge after Round 17. Al Jazira were on the receiving end of a 5-1 hammering at Al Shabab on Monday evening and it remains to be seen whether the result will have knocked their faltering confidence further, or make them more determined to put things right and get a strong result. Kalba’s hopes of surviving the drop are ebbing away as they sit seven points off safety with just five games remaining, having lost 3-1 to Al Ain in the previous round, but achieving a great escape is still not beyond the realms of possibility.

Concluding Round 22’s matches, Al Ahli go up against Al Wahda in a game that will be staged at Al Shabab’s Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai; the first of two home matches Al Ahli have been ordered to play at a neutral venue without any attending home fans as a result of a decision by the Disciplinary Committee. This shouldn’t trouble Al Ahli too much, however, as they can boast one of the best away records in the League this season and thus are accustomed to playing well on unfamiliar turf, as their impressive 4-1 demolition of Bani Yas on Monday night proved. Al Ahli now occupy 2nd place in the Etisalat Pro League and there will be no let-up in the latter stages of the season as Quique Flores will want his men to finish with the highest points total possible. Al Wahda suffered late heartbreak in Round 21 as Al Nasr stole all three points with an injury time winner, so Branko Ivankovic’s 7th-placed will be hoping to make up for that disappointment with a positive result.