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Al Wahda and Al Dhafra fighting to qualify for next stage

Both Al Wahda and Al Dhafra will be seeking qualification to the semifinals stage of the Etisalat Cup Competition when they play their respective matches tomorrow, Friday January 21st in week 10 of the competition, which marks the conclusion of the group phase.

Abu Dhabi-based Al Wahda will face Group "A" leaders Al Ain away at 6:40pm, while their contenders for the semifinal spot Al Dhafra will host Dubai at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium in the Western Region. The hosts willbe fielding their strongest team against Dubai, whilst Al Wahda will miss the efforts of some of their key stars who participated with the UAE Senior National squad in the Asian Cup in Qatar along with their Brazilian player Fernando Bayano who is currently extending a short vacation in Brazil due to his mother's sickness. Al Ain will also play without three of their key players who were also on National duty, but their new Brazilian coach Alexander Gallo will use the chance to field his countryman Elias Ribeiro, who signed a one and a half year contract recently, to prepare him for the 2nd Round of the Etisalat Pro-League Competition.

Al Wahda are in 2nd position with 14 points, two ahead of their rivals Al Dhafra in the 3rd spot with 12 points. It is not a must-win clash for Al Dhafra, but they will also be hoping that Al Ain will beat Al Wahda. A draw for Al Wahda and a win for Al Dhafra will force the two teams to resort to head-to-head matches to decide the qualifiers.

The other three squads Dubai, Al Nasr and Bani Yas have dashed their hopes of contention with only 10, 9 and 8 points respectively. Bani Yas and Al Nasr will meet on Friday to finish their Etisalat Cup campaign, kick off at 6:45pm.

The preliminary stage will be concluded on Saturday with three games in Group "B". The outcome of these matches however will not affect the standings of the Group after both Al Wasl and Al Shabab have made their way successfully to the semifinals last week and are on top of the table with 16 and 15 points respectively. Al Shabab will host Al Jazira at Maktoum Bin Rashid Stadium, Al Ahli are to face Kalba at Rashid Stadium, while Al Wasl will meet Sharjah at their ground in Dubai. All three games will kick off at 6:40pm.