After a disappointing week in the Asian Champions League, Al Ain and Al Jazira face each other in the Arabian Gulf League on Sunday. John McAuley previews the marquee match of Round 20:
Asian angst
Both sides suffered damaging defeats in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Al Ain losing 2-1 at Qatar’s El Jaish and Jazira beaten 1-0 at home by Tractor Sazi, the Iranian side.
The results made it zero points from two group matches for both UAE clubs, with Al Ain and Jazira each rooted to the bottom of their respective pools.
Domestic differences
While both clubs have struggled on the continent, they are experiencing contrasting fortunes in the Arabian Gulf League. Having headed the table for most of the season, Al Ain are now four points behind leaders Al Ahli.
Jazira, meanwhile, have endured a poor campaign, however a run of three successive league victories has moved them away from the relegation battle and into eighth.
What’s at stake
Given the current state of play in the league, Al Ain have undoubtedly more to lose. The UAE champions went down 2-1 to Al Shabab in the last round, allowing Ahli to leapfrog them into first.
On Friday, the Dubai club stretched that advantage to four points, meaning Al Ain travel to the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in desperate need of a victory. With only six rounds remaining after this, they simply must respond.
Al Jazira’s take
“For me, Al Ain are the best team in the league, who I personally enjoy watching as they offer the most beautiful football in the UAE,” said Henk ten Cate, the Jazira coach.
“But when we face them I’m sure the players will fight for the whole 90 minutes to make up for our high amount of injuries, until we get a positive result from the match.
“Al Ain are going through a poor spell of results, but I don’t believe that will affect them negatively against us. But we have the fighting spirit, the mentality and the faith in our ability to overcome any opponent.”
Al Ain’s take
“This current period is not the best for us, since we have lost three games in the last 20 days,” said Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain coach.
“We must respond and it’s my responsibility to correct the mistakes and make sure the players go into the game in the best way. This is a good opportunity to return to winning again, but we realise our task will not be easy.
“Our destiny is in our hands in the race for all titles, but I’m aware the situation is not easy for my players, the supporters. I expect a positive result against Jazira.”
Shabab stay in ACL contention
An second-half own-goal by Ali Al Ameri gave Al Shabab a 1-0 derby victory over Al Nasr as the race for the final Asian Champions League (ACL) place in the Arabian Gulf League hots up.
The away defeat means Nasr slipped to fourth over the weekend, with Al Wasl’s 1-1 draw against Emirates on Friday putting them in the third. With leaders Al Ahli and champions Al Ain clear in first and second place, our teams are in contention for the final ACL qualiftying spot.
Wasl (34 points), Nasr (33), Wahda (32) and Shabab (29) all have a strong chance while Baniyas (26) were hurt by a 2-0 home defeat on Saturday by Al Dhafra.
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