Stung by a goalless draw at home to Kalba last week, Cosmin Olaroiu has warned Al Ahli they can ill afford to haemorrhage points if they are to keep pace with the Arabian Gulf League’s early leaders.
The defending champions are in fourth place and four points behind joint table-toppers Al Jazira and Al Wasl.
Thursday night, Al Ahli meet Baniyas, who endured a 6-0 humiliation against Emirates last week, but Olaroiu is wary of a backlash from the basement side.
“Regardless where they stand in the league, every opponent we meet gets extra motivated for the simple fact that they are playing against the champions,” the manager said.
“Baniyas will be no different. They are struggling now but they can produce a game like Kalba or even better. So we need to find solutions to return with the three points.”
Ahli will also be without their Brazilian playmaker Everton Ribeiro, who is serving a one-match ban for a red card offence in the last game.
“Obviously the absence of any key player, particularly someone like Ribeiro, in the line-up is a big blow,” the Romanian said. “It’s not easy to find a substitute equivalent for a player like Ribeiro.
“But then again such things are not unusual in football. We need to look at the bigger picture. We have a 22-player squad to choose from and we’ll try to get the best combination.”
Jose Gomes, the Baniyas manager, has put his team’s previous result behind him and is looking ahead to Thursday’s home game.
“We are in a team-building process,” the Portuguese pointed out. “We have a good programme and I’m confident the results to follow.
“We are up against a tough opponent and don’t underrate us.”
In Thursday’s other games, Al Ain travel to Kalba and Jazira will look to bounce back from their first league defeat of the season — at the hands of Al Nasr — when they visit Al Dhafra at the Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium.
Al Wasl are at home to the promoted Hatta.
Al Ain are expected to return with full points despite being depleted at the back with five of their defenders, including UAE internationals Mohanad Salem and Mohammed Fayez, absent.
However, they will be bolstered in attack by the return of Brazilian Douglas and Colombian Danilo Asprilla, who missed their 3-0 victory over Sharjah last week.
Al Ain are third in the table, just three points behind the joint leaders, but they have played just nine games while Jazira have played 11 and Wasl 12.
Jazira manager Henk ten Cate has suggested going into the new year at the top of the table was not his priority at the moment.
“The important thing for us is the three points from Dhafra,” Ten Cate said. “They are a physically strong side with two danger men — Makhete Diop and Omar Khrbin — to watch for.”
The Dutchman, though, is pleased with how the season has panned out for his side, barring last week’s setback.
“We are quite proud of our work as we got beat only once in 17 matches in both the league and cup competitions.”
Thursday’s fixtures
• Kalba v Al Ain, 4.45pm
• Al Dhafra v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
• Al Wasl v Hatta, 8pm
• Baniyas v Al Ahli, 8pm
Friday’s fixtures
• Sharjah v Dibba, 4.50pm
• Al Nasr v Emirates, 8pm
• Al Wahda v Al Shabab, 8pm
Matches televised on AD Sports
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