Al Fateh v Al Jazira: AGL leaders look to step up Asian Champions League campaign

Ali Mabkhout of Al Jazira in action during the Arabian Gulf League football match between Al Jazira and Hatta at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on December 9, 2016. Photo courtesy Arabian Gulf LeagueShow less

■ Asian Champions League: Al Fateh v Al Jazira, Tuesday, 7.20pm

The Arabian Gulf League leaders will look to get their Asian Champions League campaign back on track on Tuesday, when they meet Al Fateh in Saudi Arabia.

Domestic priorities

Jazira lead the 2016/17 Arabian Gulf League by six points with five rounds remaining, putting them in pole position for only a second UAE championship. That has impacted their Champions League campaign, though, with manager Henk ten Cate admitting previously that domestic duties take priority. As such, Jazira have omitted from their continental squad winger Leonardo, their marquee winter-window signing and 2016 Champions League winner.

Continental contrast

While Jazira have thrived in the Arabian Gulf League, thanks in large part to the free-scoring Ali Mabkhout, they are struggling badly in the Champions League. After two matches, they sit rooted to the bottom of Group B, yet to earn a solitary point following defeats to Qatar’s Lekhwiya (3-0) and Iran’s Esteghlal Khouzestan (1-0). They now face Al Fateh, bottom of the Saudi Pro League, at the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Hasa.

The manager’s perspective

“We lost at home against Esteghlal Khouzestan, which was not a just result – we were the better team,” said Ten Cate. “But anyway, we lost and are in this situation. As I have often said, we want to get out of this situation as quick as possible. There are four games to go, 12 points at stake, and we will go for it now. Preparations have been good. We’re OK, but unfortunately not everybody is fit – we have left [Mbark] Boussoufa and Ali Kasheif in Abu Dhabi. All the rest are fit. We’re going to play the strongest team possible.”

The player’s perspective

“Our position in the group is not satisfying for us,” said Ailton Almeida, the Jazira winger who previously represented Saudi’s Al Hilal. “Tomorrow is a good chance for us to take the three points and try to get out from last place. I played against Al Fateh before. Of course it was a different team, different players and I was playing in another team also, so it was a very different case. But we approach the game tomorrow to win. We’ve come here to move to three points. I want to leave here tomorrow with the three points.”

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