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Kalba v Al Nasr Pre-Match Press Conferences

Al Nasr coach Walter Zenga emphasised the faith he has in his team during a pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday evening’s Round 17 match at Kalba, and reaffirmed that his main focus is still on the Etisalat Pro League despite currently sitting 6th in the table, and with the distraction of the AFC Champions League tournament also to consider. “I believe in this squad; I have the squad to finish second in this League,” the Italian said. “We cannot simply focus on the Champions League because we’re still capable of challenging for that second place. But if it’s only me believing in this it is not enough. Everyone must have faith and trust in us.”

Speaking about the game ahead, Zenga admitted that his side has struggled recently. “We haven’t had a lot of positive results lately so Kalba will not be easy,” the 52-year-old coach said. “However, I hope we will have a good game and get the three points.” Al Nasr will have to do without their Brazilian captain Linardo Lima, who scored a brace in the last game but also picked up his third yellow card of the season to rule him out of the Kalba clash, but Italian striker Giuseppe Mascara returns from suspension. “We were missing Giuseppe in the last game, and now Lima, so we just swap one-for-one,” bemoaned Zenga. “It makes it difficult for us to perform at our highest level; we continue without our best team.”

Second-from-bottom Kalba will also be without their best team for the visit of Al Nasr, as manager Ze Mario detailed in his pre-match press conference. “We are likely to be missing French midfielder Gregory Dufrennes due to injury, as well as Edward Sadomba and Amer Deeb, plus our defender Ahmed Sulaiman will miss his first game of the season. But I am confident that the squad players who step in to replace them will do a good job and make up for their absences.” Kalba are in dire need of a victory to boost morale as they attempt to escape relegation for the rest of the season, and Ze Mario is well aware that they will welcome an Al Nasr side eager to heal their wounds after a disappointing late defeat at the hands of Al Shabab in Round 16 to the Ittihad Kalba Stadium in Sharjah. “It will be a difficult game, especially as they try to compensate for their loss last week,” he observed.