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Preview of Fourth Round Match-Ups

The Etisalat Pro-League title battle will continue tomorrow (Friday) with two matches to be played on the first day of the fourth round. Sharjah, who were eliminated from the President's Cup race earlier this week after losing to Masafi on penalty shootout, will play the opening game of the first day when they host Dubai Club tomorrow at 5:30 pm. They launched their championship campaign by beating Kalba 3-0 in the opening round before losing their second match 1-2 at home to Al Jazira. Sharjah succeeded in holding Al Ain, the current leaders, to a 1-1 draw in the last round to raise their tally to four points putting them in the six place. But Dubai need to exert more efforts as they are yet to open their points account. They are currently at the bottom of the table after losing to Al Ain 3-4, Al Shabab 2-0 and Al Nasr 3-1 in the three rounds played so far.

Al Jazira will travel to Dubai to face Al Ahli in a highly anticipated match, which kicks off at 8pm on Friday. The visitors are runners-up with seven points, just behind Al Ain on goal difference. They will complete their preparations this evening with a last training session at Al Wasl ground. Their coach Braga is expected to field his new local player Sami Rabei who signed a contract with the capital's club only a few days ago, while the home team will miss the efforts of their midfielder Hassan Ali Ibrahim due to a knee injury. Al Jazira has won twice against Al Nasr and Sharja 3-0 and 2-1 respectively, but were forced to a goal-less draw against their traditional rivals Al Wahda in the third round, whilst their contenders this week are in the 7th place with four points. Al Ahli started their League march with a 2-0 loss in their away game against Al Dhafra, but then the Dubai-based team compensated for this loss by beating Al Wasl 4-1 in the second round. They then lost two valuable points by drawing with Kalba 2-2 in the third round. Al Ahli's famous Italian recruit Cannavaro will come back into the team for tomorrow's match after missing Al Ahli's match against Al Rams in the President's Cup earlier this week due to suspension for collecting three yellow cards in the first three matches of the Pro-League competition.

The Etisalat Pro-league fight will continue on Saturday with two matches when Al Dhafra hosts Al Wasl, kick off at 5:40 and Al Wahda takes on Al Ain in the biggest match of this round. The visitors are looking for a win to raise their tally to 10 points, which will help them stay on top of the table, while the home team need to come out with all three points to keep their title hopes alive. Al Wahda will field its full team after welcoming back their midfielder Abdulrahim Juma'a who was suffering a severe injury that kept him out for a long team. On the other hand Al Ain are still facing problems with injuries as they continue to lose a number of their key players including the two Ivory Coast players Ibrahima Keta and Juma'a Saeed.

The fourth round will conclude on Sunday with two matches - Bani Yas will host Kalba, with kick off at 5:35 pm, and Al Nasr meets Al Shabab at home at 8pm.