Sharjah manager Abdulaziz Al Anbari is guarded against complacency when they travel to Khorfakkan in the Arabian Gulf League on Thursday.
Sharjah are the runaway leaders having won all of their six games so far while Khorfakkan are only avoiding sitting bottom of the table as they have a better goal difference to Hatta. Both have secured only one point.
“I have warned my players of the dangers playing against such opponents because we can lose focus and lose the game,” Al Anbari said.
“We obviously want to keep winning and maintain our place at the top of the league table. We have done a lot of hard work to get there and we just can’t let it go.
“The players are aware of their responsibilities entrusted to them and they also know that the opponent will be very strong in front of us. They are a team that has performed well despite losing five of their six games.”
The Khorfakkan manager Caio Zanardi acknowledged the hard task his side has to face but is hopeful for his players to give a good fight.
“We have a lot of respect for Sharjah on their performances so far in the league,” the Brazilian said.
“They are still get beat but we care less about them. We have nothing to lose and are ready to give them a good fight, and perhaps, win our first three points.”
The Al Jazira manager Marcel Keizer believes the momentum is on their side to consolidate their fourth position when they take on bottom team Hatta at the Mohamed bin Zayed stadium.
Jazira bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to leaders Sharjah with an emphatic 5-3 triumph over Shabab Al Ahli last week and Keizer is confident for his side to pick up full points.
“We just want to make sure we continue to play our best football,” Keizer said.
“They are a team that will try to defend a lot and then try to score from the counter attacks. For us, it doesn’t matter. We obviously want to win. This is a different game and we’ll play to our strengths.”
Jazira are in fourth spot, seven points behind Sharjah, and are two behind both Al Wahda and Al Nasr.
In the other games, Al Wasl host Fujairah at the Zabeel stadium and Shabab Al Ahli play Ajman at the Rashid stadium.
