Defending champions Al Jazira will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the Adnoc Pro League season as they take on Al Orooba on Tuesday.
Marcel Keizer’s side were beaten 2-1 at Sharjah last Friday, after late goals from Khalid Abdulraheem Bawazir and Ben Malango cancelled out Ali Mabkhout's opener, and now face newly-promoted Al Orooba at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Northern Emirate club stunned Al Ain in their last match when they rallied from three-goals down to snatch a point in what was their third successive draw.
“Al Orooba is a good, mentally strong team as they have proven in their last three outings,” Keizer said.
“The last against Al Ain to come back after trailing 3-0 down was remarkable result for them. On our part, we will do everything we can to win this game.”
Jazira’s unbeaten run in four games ended when Sharjah scored two late goals to win 2-1 last week. “Every game is hard and Sharjah are one of the stronger teams in the Pro League,” Keizer said when asked of that result.
“Al Orooba began with two heavy defeats but they have come back strongly, and after the last three matches they are now mentally stronger, particularly after the draw against Al Ain.
“For us, we have to do everything to win the three points. We are ready for this. We have good quality and we play our own game.
“We started the season well until the defeat to Sharjah. So that makes it more important for us to win against Al Orooba, and that’s what we would be aiming at.”
Jazira will miss the services of midfielder Khalifa Al Hammadi after his red card against Sharjah.
Malian midfielder Oumar Troare is still recovering from a leg injury he suffered in the 3-2 home win over Emirates 12 days ago while Khalfan Mubarak remains doubtful after two appearances in the season.
“Injuries are part of football but we have all others in the squad at our disposal to field a strong line-up,” Keizer added.
Shabab Al Ahli meet city rivals Al Wasl in the late game at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai and Kalba make the long journey to Al Dhafra in the early match.
