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The two top teams go head-to-head this weekend

Fresh off their 4-0 victory in the President's Cup final this week against Al Wahda, Al Jazira will face their nearest rival in Round 16 of the Etisalat Pro-League on Friday when they take on second-placed Bani Yas at New Bani Yas Stadium in Al Shamkha at 8.45pm.

The visitors will be looking to continue their winning streak and tighten their grip on their League leadership, in the hope of achieving a double crown this season for the first time in their history. Al Jazira remain the only team who has not lost a single game since the start of both the Etisalat Pro-Leagueand the President's Cup Competitions this season. They have won in 12 matches and drawn in only three in the Etisalat Pro-League. Moreover they have maintained the highest score of goals with a total of 41, whilst conceding only 12 in 15 encounters. Host team Bani Yas will play Friday's match under the guidance of the their newly-appointed UAE Olympic Team Coach Mahdi Ali after dismissing their Tunisian coach LotfiEl Benzarti four days ago. Bani Yas has lost five points in the last two rounds after being held by Al Wasl to a goalless draw at their pitch in Round 14 before losing 1-2 to lowly placed Kalba in Round 15, a defeat which widened the difference between them and leader's Al Jazira to 10 points. A win against Al Jazira this weekend will reduce the gap to 7 points, and at the same time open the door for the other teams to come closer with six rounds to go. However a defeat will increase the difference to 13 points and put Al Jazira well on the path to reach their dreams of a League title.

Round 16 matches will start on Thursday, April 15 when Kalba travel to the Western Region to battle it out against the home team Al Dhafra at Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium at 6:05pm. The match is a do-or-die for both teams who are now lying in the relegation zone. Al Dhafra lost to Al Wasl 1-2 in Round 15 whilst Kalba surprised Bani Yas with a 2-1 win. The hosts have 12 points, one ahead of the visiting squad, to it will be a hard fought battle in the hope to avoid last position for both teams. Al Dhafra's newly-signed Syrian coach Mohamed Kwid will lead their team against Kalba. Kwid has replaced the team's Egyptian caretaker FatohAl-Mursi who supervised the team in their game against Al Wasl in Round 15 after Alexander Guimaresh was let go only hours before that tie.

Al Ain and Al Ahli were also due to meet tomorrow, however their match has been rescheduled for May 8 due to Al Ain's match against Nagoya Grampus of Japan in the 2011 AFC Champions League which was played on April 12 in Japan.

Al Wahda and Dubai will start Friday's matches when they meet at 6.00 pm at Al Nahyan Stadium. The hosts have lost a chance to save their season after being beaten by Al Jazira in the President's Cup final as they are out of running in the Etisalat Pro-League, lying in 5th position 20 points behind League leaders Al Jazira. They lost to Al Ain 0-2 in the last round  while their opposition Dubai beat Sharjah with a solitary goal to take 9th place with 16 points. The hosts will miss the efforts of their full right back Essa Santo due to injury.

Two other encounters in this round will be played on the concluding day, April 16, when Sharjah host Al Nasr at 5:55pm and Al Shabab face Al Wasl at the Al Wasl's stadium at 8:45pm. Sharjah and Al Nasr have collected 21 points each to take 6th and 7th positions respectively, after the former beat their rivals 2-1 in their head-to-head match in Round 5. Al Wasl also defeated Al Shabab 4-0 in the same round to take 3rd place while Al Shabab are sitting in 4th position.