AGLEAGUE matchweek 18 preview
The Arabian Gulf League resumes on Friday as four games of matchweek 18 will be held on Friday, while the other three are set to be played on Saturday.
Ittihad Kalba will kick-off the action as they host Shabab Al Ahli on Friday at 17:45. The Tigers will be hoping to end their four-game winless run as they lose to Al Wahda and Al Dhafra and drew with Emirates Club and Al Nasr. They now sit ninth on 20 points.
They’ll, however, be facing an uphill task against Arabian Gulf Cup champions Shabab Al Ahli. The recently crowned side will be hoping to maintain the momentum to further improve their position on the league table. They are currently fourth on 32 points.
At 17:55, Al Wahda will clash with Emirates Club at Al Nahyan Stadium. Although they lost the cup title to Shabab Al Ahli, the Clarets’ recent results in the league are promising. They most recently defeated Bani Yas 4-1 to move up to fifth place on 27 points. They’ll, however, be without Leonardo Da Souza who misses the game due to suspension.
On the other hand, the Falcons have been getting relatively good results in the second half of the season, as they lose one game and drew three since the restart. They, however, remain 13th on 12 points.
Leaders Sharjah will face a tough test as they clash with Al Jazira at Khalid bin Mohammed Stadium at 20:30. The King snatched a 1-0 win over Fujairah in the last matchweek to raise their tally to 43 points, eight above second-placed Al Ain.
The Pride of Abu Dhabi also collected the three points as they defeated Ajman 3-0 to remain third with 34 points.
At the same time, Bani Yas will be playing at home against Ajman. Both sides will be looking to return to winning ways after falling to defeats in the last matchweek. The Sky Blues currently sit fifth on 27 points, five above the Oranges who sit eighth.
The action resumes on Saturday at 17:45 when Dibba host Al Nasr at Fujairah Stadium. The Sailors sit at rock bottom on five points only and have most recently lost 2-1 to Al Dhafra. Al Nasr who drew 1-1 with Ittihad Kalba last matcweek, will be looking to get a positive result to move further away from the bottom of the table as they now sit 11th on 17 points.
At 17:50, Al Wasl will clash with Al Dhafra at Zabeel Stadium. The Cheetahs sit 10th on 20 points, three behind seventh-placed Al Dhafra.
Matchweek 18 concludes with Al Ain and Al Fujairah encounter at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium at 20:30.
The Boss will be looking to regain their balance and return to winning ways after their recent loss to Shabab Al Ahli that left them frozen on 35 points in second place.
Meanwhile, struggling Fujairah are in a dire need for a positive result as they lost all their past six games and haven’t collected a win in their past 10 matches to drop to 12th place on 13 points.
