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Al Wahda face Al Khuraitiat; Al Wasl meet Al Riffa in Bahrain

 

Abu Dhabi- based Al Wahda will take on the visiting Qatari side Al Khuraitiat  tonight at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi in the third round match of the 27th  Gulf Clubs Championship 2012 due to kick off at 7:30pm. The hosts are currently classified in the second position in the second group with three points  while Al Arabi of Kuwait are on top of the table with six points following two successive wins against Al Khuraitiat and Al Wahda. Tonight's match is considered of great importance for the home squad as a win will equalize their balance of points with Al Arabi and their last encounter against  the Kuwaiti team scheduled for May 1st in Kuwait will be very  tough for its outcome will determine the leaders of the group.

Al Khuraitiat, led by their French coach Loran Banned, are staying at the bottom of the group and are yet to open their account after losing twice to Al Wahda in Doha and to Al Arabi in Kuwait in the first and second rounds. They did not score even a single goal and they conceded 5 goals and a third loss today will put them out of contention, thus in this case their last game against Al Arabi on April 17 in Doha will turn to be of no importance for them.

Al Wahda will have back their Omani professional player Mohammad Al Shaiba who missed Al Ahli league match in round 17 due to suspension. But they will miss the efforts of Mubarak Al Mansoori who was shown the red card in the GCC second round game against Al Arabi of Kuwait besides Omer Ali Omer due to injury.

Both Al Wahda and Al Khuraitiat will play decisive local matches as the former will meet Bani Yas on Sunday next week in the President's Cup semifinals and Al Khuraitiat who are facing a critical situation in the Qatari league will battle it out against Likhwia in the forthcoming days.

On the other hand, Al Wasl have come out with good results in the Gulf Clubs Championship 2012 after collecting 6 points from two wins against Al Nahda of Oman and  the Bahraini side Al Riffa to top the standings. Al Wasl's mission is due to leave today for Bahrain to play Al Riffa tomorrow evening at Al Muharraq Stadium, kick off at 7:45pm (UAE timing). The UAE team will miss tomorrow their goalkeeper Ahmed Mahmoud, Mohammad Jamal and Saud Saeed due to injury in addition to Rashid Essa who was given a rest.

Al Wasl need to snatch a single point to secure a berth in the next stage while Al Riffa are looking for a win to keep their hopes alive in the competition. The UAE side will play their last match in the group stage on May 1st when they meet Al Nahda of Oman, who are sitting at the bottom of the table, on Zabeel pitch.