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Etisalat Pro League Round 26 Preview

The final seven games of the 2012-2013 Etisalat Pro League season will take place between Friday and Monday, closing the curtain on an exciting eight months of action. Whilst the title was wrapped up by champions Al Ain several rounds ago, the drama at the bottom of the table has extended right until Round 26 of the campaign as we await the final results to find out which one of Al Shaab and Dibba Al Fujairah will remain in the top flight next season.

The first game of the final round will see champions Al Ain officially crowned for the second season running, as Al Nasr visit the Tahnoun bin Mohamed Stadium at 6:15pm on Friday to conclude a disappointing season for the Dubai-based club, who started out as potential title challengers. Al Ain have failed to win a game in the League since securing the title in Round 22, but Cosmin Olaroiu’s men will want to finish on a high and make the most of the celebratory atmosphere as Al Ain fans are set to turn out en masse to see their team lift the Etisalat Pro League trophy.

On Saturday, all eyes will be on the bottom of the table as the battle against relegation must be resolved. Al Shaab are in the driving seat for survival, knowing that safety is in their hands if they win or draw against Al Shabab at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, kicking off at 6:15pm. A draw would be enough to keep Al Shaab up even if Dibba Al Fujairah manage to win their match against Ajman, due to the fact that Al Shaab did the double over Dibba in their two meetings during the season, with a 5-3 home victory and 1-0 away win over their fellow relegation candidates. Al Shabab are currently the busiest team in the League, having played a strong 0-0 draw away at Esteghlal in Iran on Wednesday night before bowing out of the AFC Champions League in the final 16 knockout stage on aggregate, and looking ahead to Tuesday’s President’s Cup final against Al Ahli, but Marcos Paqueta’s men are always highly professional and competitive so Al Shaab will certainly not expect an easy game. Marius Sumudica will hope his players display the battling qualities needed to secure survival, having slipped up twice in the past two games when they could have guaranteed their place in next season’s Pro League with a win.

Dibba Al Fujairah must win their Round 26 game away at Ajman’s Rashid bin Saeed Stadium at 6:15pm on Saturday if they are to maintain any hope of staying up, as they currently trail two points behind Al Shaab in 13th place. Dr. Abdullah Misfer’s side have shown strong spirit to record shock wins over Al Ahli, Al Ain and Al Wasl in recent weeks, and held their nerve to beat Kalba 2-1 in the previous round and keep their survival dreams alive. Ajman, meanwhile, have enjoyed a hit-and-miss League campaign and find themselves 10th in the table with 29 points, but the undoubted highlight of 2012-2013 was lifting the Etisalat Cup with a win over Al Jazira last week.

Al Jazira will conclude their campaign with an Abu Dhabi derby against Al Wahda at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium at 6:15pm on Saturday, and Luis Milla will want to end on somewhat of a positive note by securing 3rd position in the table in what will be Al Jazira’s first trophyless season in four years. A win will guarantee a top-three finish, whilst Al Wahda can only finish as high as 6th if they are victorious.

Second-placed Al Ahli will make the long trip to Al Dhafra to round off a good League season for Quique Flores’ attack-minded side, and they may be forgiven for having one eye on Tuesday night’s President’s Cup final as they aim to secure some silverware before the summer break, with their League position already guaranteed. Al Dhafra can climb no higher than their current position of 8th, but will be pleased with a solid level of performance this season as they play their last game of 2012-2013 at their home of the Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium, kicking off at 6:15pm on Saturday.

Kalba will bid farewell to the Pro League with their final game against Dubai on Saturday at 6:15pm, taking place at their home ground. The Sharjah-based side have been rooted to the bottom of the table for some time now having racked up just 11 points from 25 games so far; meanwhile Dubai only narrowly avoided being dragged into a relegation scrap, as their good start to the season was enough to counteract a slump in form and bad run of results in the second half of the year. Rene Marsiglia’s side sit just four points above the danger zone, but are safe with only one game left to play.

Monday evening will see the very last kick of a ball in the Etisalat Pro League 2012-2013 season as Al Wasl host Bani Yas at the Zabeel Stadium, kicking off at 6:15pm. With the game being moved back by two days to allow Bani Yas sufficient time to recover from Thursday’s second leg of the Gulf Clubs Championship final against Qatari side Al Khor, Bani Yas will know ahead of the game whether a win will be able to catapult them to a third-place finish, depending on Saturday’s results. Al Wasl have endured a very below par season by their standards, currently occupying 9th position in the League and with 8th their highest achievable position this term.