The Arabian Gulf Cup group stage reaches its climax this week with seven teams battling for the two semi-final slots for the right to join Al Wasl and Al Shabab in the semi-finals.
Wasl head Group A on 11 points with Al Nasr a point behind in second.
Nasr have played all their matches and could miss out if Al Ahli, on nine points, the only team who can overtake Wasl as group winners, can defeat Al Dhafra on Wednesday.
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But even a draw would suffice for Ahli, the beaten Asian Champions League finalists, to reach the last four as they hold a goal advantage over both Nasr and fourth-placed Emirates.
In Group B, four teams are in the mix to join Shabab, the outright winners, with 12 points, in the knockout round: Al Wahda and Dibba, both on seven points, and Sharjah and Fujairah, who have five points apiece.
Wahda travel to Sharjah tonight without the services of their prolific Argentine striker Sebastian Tagliabue and Brazilian midfielder Denilson, both serving one-match bans for accumulating three yellow cards.
They are also without Ahmed Rashid, Mohammed Al Akbari, and Salem Sultan, who are on national duty with the UAE Olympic team.
Javier Aguirre, the Wahda coach, was upbeat when talking about his team’s chances. “Of course we will miss them but we’ll not take that as an excuse when we travel to Sharjah,” he said. “We all know how important this game is. This is an opportunity to win a trophy for the club and we’ll do everything within our capacity to win this game to make it into the semi-finals.
“It won’t be an easy game. Sharjah seems to have rediscovered their form under a new coach and, perhaps, playing a different style. This game has now become everything to play for, for both teams. I’m sure it’s going to be an open and entertaining match.”
Sharjah are undefeated under the Emirati caretaker manager Abdulaziz Al Anbari.
His three games in charge have yielded a 0-0 draw against Dhafra in the Arabian Gulf League and victories over Al Wasl and Baniyas.
Dibba face Al Jazira tonight, whom they thumped 4-0 in the league last week, a result that proved the final straw for Jazira’s Brazilian coach Abel Braga, who was dismissed soon after. Fujairah are home to Shabab in the other game in the group.
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