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Etisalat Pro League Round 23 Preview

After Al Ain wrapped up the Etisalat Pro League title in the last round, Round 23 sees the attention turn to the teams immediately below them fighting for a top-four finish, and the three sides at the bottom of the League fighting for professional survival.

Kicking off the Round at 5:55pm on Friday, Kalba host Al Wasl at the Kalba Union Sports & Cultural Club Stadium in Sharjah. Kalba are rock bottom of the League table with just 10 points after 22 games, and chances to save themselves are slipping away as their fellow strugglers begin to pick up points. They will fancy their chances against an inconsistent Al Wasl side, however, who have had a season to forget as the giants sit 9th in the standings on 27 points. Kalba go into the game off the back of a 3-1 defeat at Al Jazira, whilst Al Wasl won 2-1 last time out against local Dubai rivals Al Shabab.

At 6:05pm Al Wahda host Ajman at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi and the under-fire Branko Ivankovic will be hoping his side can bounce back from their 2-0 Round 22 defeat at Al Ahli with a positive home result. Al Wahda are 7th in the table with 32 points and still have an outside chance of finishing in the top four, but Abdulwahab Abdulkadir’s determined Ajman side will not make it an easy task for them. They secured a spirited 3-3 draw against Bani Yas last time out and sit relatively safely in 11th with the main focus of their season culminating in the Etisalat Cup final to come next month.

Arguably the clash of the round, Al Nasr welcome local Dubai rivals Al Ahli to the Al Maktoum Stadium at 8:45pm, with both teams fighting for the highest possible finish in the upper end of the table. Al Ahli’s excellent free-scoring form of late has seen them seize 2nd place with 45 points, and Al Nasr have coped well in the League whilst balancing a hectic fixture list in various competitions, moving up to 4th and just six points behind their opponents. Both teams were victorious in the last round, with Al Nasr running out 3-1 winners at Dibba Al Fujairah and Al Ahli cruising to a 2-0 win over Al Wahda.

Saturday’s action gets underway with two games kicking off at 6pm. Al Shaab will host the Champions Al Ain at the Khaled bin Mohamed Stadium, and they will be hoping to take a leaf out of fellow relegation candidates Dibba Al Fujairah’s book by taking points off the top-placed side in a bid to secure safety. Al Shaab have a four-point cushion over the drop zone in 12th place, but cannot breathe easy until their place in next season’s Etisalat Pro League is mathematically confirmed. The home side go into the game having drawn their last match 3-3 at Al Dhafra, whilst Al Ain secured a memorable 3-0 victory over Dubai courtesy of an Asamoah Gyan hat-trick to clinch the League title for the second successive season.

Also at 6pm, Dibba Al Fujairah travel to Al Shabab’s Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, looking to bounce back from a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Al Nasr in the previous round. Dr. Abdullah Misfer’s team have been giving survival their best shot, recording shock wins over Al Ain and Al Wasl and a draw at Al Jazira, so they will hope to pull off another surprise to move closer to retaining their Pro League status. Al Shabab were victorious in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday night and still have a chance to progress in the competition, but their Round 22 League match was less successful, ending in a 2-1 defeat at Al Wasl.

At 8:45pm Al Dhafra travel to Bani Yas, with both teams having drawn their last League games 3-3 against Al Shaab and Ajman respectively. Bani Yas are third in the table and three points behind second-placed Al Ahli, whilst Al Dhafra are comfortable in 8th with little left to play for. Bani Yas made it through to the semi-finals of the Gulf Club Championships in midweek with an away victory on penalties over Bahraini side Al Mufarraq, so they will enter the match in high spirits. The final game of the round also kicks off at 8:45pm at the Dubai Sports & Cultural Club Stadium in Al Awir, as Rene Marsiglia’s 10th-placed Dubai welcome Luis Milla’s 5th-placed Al Jazira. Dubai suffered at the hands of the ruthless champions Al Ain in the previous round, whilst Al Jazira secured their first League win under their new Spanish coach, defeating Kalba 3-1. Al Jazira were also victorious in their midweek AFC Champions League action, brushing aside Iran’s Tractorsazi Tabriz 2-0, but the result was not enough to keep their progression hopes alive.