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Al Jazira v Al Wasl Pre-Match Press Conferences

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Al Jazira head coach Luis Milla admitted that it has been difficult to adequately prepare his players for their Round 20 clash against Al Wasl at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium at 5:55pm on Friday, following a quick turnaround after their successful Etisalat Cup semi-final on Monday night. “It has been a short period since the Etisalat Cup semi-final to re-prepare the players for Round 20 of the Pro League, but we have addressed the most important issues in training during this short period,” the Spaniard said. As Al Jazira try to regain their League form and bounce back up the table having slipped from 2nd to 4th in recent weeks, Milla praised Ali Al Ameri and Hamad Al Hammadi for filling the voids left by Hyungmin Shin, who has been away on international duty with South Korea, and Jumaa Abdullah, who picked up an injury which is expected to keep him out for an extended period of time, as he travels to Germany for treatment. “I have not selected the final squad to face Al Wasl yet. The decisions will be made after our final training session on Thursday,” Milla added.

Opposing coach Eid Baroot used his pre-match press conference to identify Al Jazira as a very strong team, singling out important UAE players such as Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Khamis Esmail and Sultan Barghash amongst their ranks. Whilst most other teams have had a busy fixture list since the last round of the Etisalat Pro League three weeks ago, Al Wasl have enjoyed a 22-day break without any matches, and Baroot decided against scheduling any training games in the meantime. “We stayed away from organising any friendly fixtures during this time for fear of picking up any unnecessary injuries,” the Emirati coach explained. “We have a full squad to select from for the game, with the exception of Waheed Ismail, who serves a suspension for collecting his third yellow card.” Baroot again called upon the support of Al Wasl’s fans, stressing the important role they can play in inspiring the team to victory, and that the fans’ backing is more crucial now than ever before.