A hotly anticipated summit clash in the Arabian Gulf League awaits on Friday when Sharjah host Al Jazira.
\nThe pair come into this consequential fixture locked on 37 points, with nine matches to play. Only November\u2019s 1-0 victory for the 2018\/19 champions, settled by Igor Coronado\u2019s first-half penalty, separates them.
\nBoth, however, come into the game under a cloud. Jazira failed last week to hit the front for the first time this term when an early 2-0 lead in the Abu Dhabi derby versus Bani Yas descended into an epic 3-3 draw, while Sharjah\u2019s 3-0 President\u2019s Cup semi-final hammering by Al Nasr on Monday made it four matches without a win.
\n\u201cWe will not change anything in our training methods or style of play\u201d, Pride of Abu Dhabi boss Marcel Keizer said. \u201cWe know how important and special this match is, because the winner will be the sole leader of the league table.
\n\u201cWe are expecting a complicated and tough game against a strong side, but we will keep preparing with the same discipline, intensity and focus.
\n\u201cWe will face them with our special style of play. The players are feeling comfortable with the system, and we achieved some great results thanks to it, so there is no reason at all to make any changes now.\u201d
\nDepleted Al Ain, meanwhile, will begin life without Shoya Nakajima after the waylaid Japan playmaker added to their injury concerns.
\nThe celebrated 26-year-old\u2019s loan spell from Porto is expected to be over after he suffered a serious ankle injury in training. This will ensure he only played twice for the improving Boss, ahead of Thursday\u2019s lengthy trip to an Al Dhafra down in 10th.
\n\u201cOf course, we are now experiencing difficult times,\u201d said Al Ain technician Pedro Emanuel of Nakajima. \u201cWe will lose an important player because of his injury during the last training session, which is difficult for us, especially after we saw what he could do for the team.
\n\u201cI know that this matter is not easy for the player and we should find solutions within the team itself because it is difficult to find a substitute for the Japanese player with the same abilities.\u201d
\nNassif Al Baydawi\u2019s reign at relegation-threatened Fujairah kicks off with a must-win match against ninth-placed Ittihad Kalba, a mid-table meeting is in store when Al Wasl host Al Wahda and bottom-placed Hatta face a tough task at buoyant Nasr.
\nPresident\u2019s Cup finalists Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club will aim to extend their 13-match undefeated run, in all competitions, versus 11th-placed Khor Fakkan and Bani Yas will close on the top two with victory against sinking Ajman.
\nMATCH-WEEK 18 FIXTURES
\nThursday
\n17:30 Fujairah v Ittihad Kalba
\n17:30 Al Dhafra v Al Ain
\n20:15 Al Wasl v Al Wahda
\nFriday
\n17:30 Al Nasr v Hatta
\n17:30 Bani Yas v Ajman
\n20:15 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club v Khor Fakkan
\n20:15 Sharjah v Al Jazira<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A hotly anticipated summit clash in the Arabian Gulf League awaits on Friday when Sharjah host Al Jazira.
\nThe pair come into this consequential fixture locked on 37 points, with nine matches to play. Only November\u2019s 1-0 victory for the 2018\/19 champions, settled by Igor Coronado\u2019s first-half penalty, separates them.
\nBoth, however, come into the game under a cloud. Jazira failed last week to hit the front for the first time this term when an early 2-0 lead in the Abu Dhabi derby versus Bani Yas descended into an epic 3-3 draw, while Sharjah\u2019s 3-0 President\u2019s Cup semi-final hammering by Al Nasr on Monday made it four matches without a win.
\n\u201cWe will not change anything in our training methods or style of play\u201d, Pride of Abu Dhabi boss Marcel Keizer said. \u201cWe know how important and special this match is, because the winner will be the sole leader of the league table.
\n\u201cWe are expecting a complicated and tough game against a strong side, but we will keep preparing with the same discipline, intensity and focus.
\n\u201cWe will face them with our special style of play. The players are feeling comfortable with the system, and we achieved some great results thanks to it, so there is no reason at all to make any changes now.\u201d
\nDepleted Al Ain, meanwhile, will begin life without Shoya Nakajima after the waylaid Japan playmaker added to their injury concerns.
\nThe celebrated 26-year-old\u2019s loan spell from Porto is expected to be over after he suffered a serious ankle injury in training. This will ensure he only played twice for the improving Boss, ahead of Thursday\u2019s lengthy trip to an Al Dhafra down in 10th.
\n\u201cOf course, we are now experiencing difficult times,\u201d said Al Ain technician Pedro Emanuel of Nakajima. \u201cWe will lose an important player because of his injury during the last training session, which is difficult for us, especially after we saw what he could do for the team.
\n\u201cI know that this matter is not easy for the player and we should find solutions within the team itself because it is difficult to find a substitute for the Japanese player with the same abilities.\u201d
\nNassif Al Baydawi\u2019s reign at relegation-threatened Fujairah kicks off with a must-win match against ninth-placed Ittihad Kalba, a mid-table meeting is in store when Al Wasl host Al Wahda and bottom-placed Hatta face a tough task at buoyant Nasr.
\nPresident\u2019s Cup finalists Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club will aim to extend their 13-match undefeated run, in all competitions, versus 11th-placed Khor Fakkan and Bani Yas will close on the top two with victory against sinking Ajman.
\nMATCH-WEEK 18 FIXTURES
\nThursday
\n17:30 Fujairah v Ittihad Kalba
\n17:30 Al Dhafra v Al Ain
\n20:15 Al Wasl v Al Wahda
\nFriday
\n17:30 Al Nasr v Hatta
\n17:30 Bani Yas v Ajman
\n20:15 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club v Khor Fakkan
\n20:15 Sharjah v Al Jazira<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38543"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38544,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38543\/revisions\/38544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}