AGLEAGUE matchweek 22- day 1
Matchweek 22 of the Arabian Gulf League kicks off on Wednesday with Emirates Club facing Shabab Al Ahli and Al Dhafra hosting Al Nasr on opening day.
Emirates Club and Shabab Al Ahli clash is set to kick off at 17:55 at Emirates Club Stadium.
The Falcons are trying to escape relegation as they currently sit 12th, tied on 15 points with 13th-placed Fujairah. Meanwhile, Dibba sit at the bottom on 12 points.
Emirates will be looking to recover from their 3-1 defeat to Al Nasr last week and get a win that could help them seal a spot in next season’s Arabian Gulf League.
Shabab Al Ahli are fighting a completely different fight at the other end of the table. They are looking to seal a spot in the top three to secure a place in next season’s AFC Asian Champions League.
After losing 1-0 to Al Wahda, they sit third on 41 points, 10 behind leaders Sharjah.
Shabab Al Ahli’s encounter with Emirates in the first half of the season ended in a 2-1 win for the home side.
Emirates Club coach Jalal Qaderi admitted that it’ll be a tough game. “I’m confident of my players’ abilities to get a positive result against a strong team as Shabab Al Ahli,” he added.
Shabab Al Ahli manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena said his team need to fight to win their remaining games. “Emirates are a strong team and will deal with each game as a final because they want to escape relegation,” the Argentine coach said.
The second game will take place at Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium at 18:10 between Al Dhafra and Al Nasr.
Both teams currently sit in the middle of the table and are looking to further improve their positions in the remaining games.
Aftter beating Bani Yas 1-0, Al Dhafra sit eighth on 27 points. They are one point above Al Nasr who sit ninth and will be looking to get their fourth win in a row.
Al Dhafra coach Vuk Rašović said his team are looking to get the three points to improve their position on the league table. “Al Nasr’s performance improved a lot in the past period. I expect a tough game,” the Serbian coach said.
Al Nasr coach Caio Zanardi said his team need to keep up the momentum and extend their winning run. “We’re going through a good period. We earned three consecutive wins but we’ve to keep the momentum going against Al Dhafra,” the Brazilian manager added.
