Arabian Gulf League football writer Ahmed Rizvi offers his predictions for Wednesday’s full slate of AGL action as the season resumes after its Asian Cup break.
Al Ain 2-1 Al Shabab
The last time Shabab travelled to Al Ain for a league match, 13 months ago, they returned home with a point following a goalless stalemate. Their rescheduled Week 1 tie, played on December 22, was a 1-1 draw with Shabab managing to halt Al Ain’s four-match streak of high-scoring wins.
Zlatko Dalic’s men will be hoping they can break that trend as they battle for the top position, and the home fans could just help them do that.
Kalba 0-3 Al Wahda
Kalba did stun Al Nasr 2-0 in their last match at home, but the odds of springing another surprise against Wahda seem really high. Struggling at the bottom of the points table, Kalba have looked out of place in the AGL with just that lone win and a draw against Baniyas in the first half of the season.
Wahda, on the other hand, suffered a couple of blips before the break – a 4-0 drubbing at Al Ain and a 2-1 loss at home to Al Ahli – and they will be determined to launch the second half of the season in the same fashion as they did the first: with an impressive 5-0 win over Kalba.
Al Jazira 4-1 Ajman
Having conceded 28 goals in the first half of the season, at a little more than two per game, Ajman should consider themselves lucky if they can return home with a more respectable scoreline.
With Ali Mabkhout just back from Australia with the Asian Cup’s golden boot and Mirko Vucinic looking unstoppable, the visitors face an unenviable task.
Emirates 1-0 Fujairah
With a new striker, Alexandro, leading their attack and the impressive Brazilian duo of Luiz Henrique and Rodrigo playing just behind him, Emirates should be able to clinch this one, though they have struggled at home with only two wins and a draw from seven matches in Ras Al Khaimah.The hosts, however, will have to be careful as Fujairah have managed a couple of surprises on the road – a 2-2 draw at Al Jazira and a 2-0 win at Sharjah.
Al Dhafra 1-2 Al Wasl
Beaten just once in their last six AGL games, Wasl have been making a steady climb up the rankings under Argentine manager Gabriel Calderon and the addition of Portuguese midfielder Hugo Viana will only strengthen them further.
Dhafra, on the other hand, look far from settled with Laurent Banide, their third coach of the season, about to start his reign against his former club. He will be happy if he can get a point.
Al Ahli 1-1 Sharjah
The Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu is just back after leading Saudi Arabia at the Asian Cup in Australia and seven of his players were part of the UAE team, who finished third at the continental championships. So this game has probably come a bit too soon for the defending champions.
Sharjah, then, should be fancying their chances, more so because Ahli have looked a bit shaky at home: they have already dropped 12 points in seven matches at the Rashid Stadium this season.
Al Nasr 2-2 Baniyas
Playing at home, the newly crowned Arabian Gulf Cup champions will be hoping to get their league campaign back on track after two consecutive defeats before the break – to Kalba and Al Wahda.
It could be a tricky match for the hosts though, especially if they are still carrying a hangover from the celebrations that followed the Cup win.
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