Abu Dhabi pride is on the line this weekend when second-placed Al Jazira welcome near-neighbours \u2013 and wannabe Arabian Gulf League title challengers \u2013 Al Wahda.
\nOnly three kilometres separate these great rivals on the capital\u2019s streets. Victory for Friday\u2019s hosts, however, would open up a gaping six-point chasm between them after nine match-weeks, plus deliver another setback to hopes of reeling in unbeaten leaders Sharjah.
\nWith no draws played out in this heated fixture since September 2016, 12 meetings ago, entertainment should be guaranteed when UAE record scorer Ali Mabkhout and national icon Ismail Matar are pitted against each other at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
\n\u201cWe are well aware of the importance of the Al Wahda match as it is a special one between the two teams,\u201d said Jazira boss Marcel Keizer.
\n\u201cThe enthusiasm of the derby gives a special flavour.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, ninth-placed Al Wasl are determined to show impending change at the top will not destabilise efforts versus Sharjah.
\nConfirmation Odair Hellmann had been ambitiously poached from Rio de Janeiro giants Fluminense arrived on Monday. The coveted Brazilian coach is expected to be in the dugout for match-week 10, meaning Emirati Salem Rabie remains in charge for Thursday\u2019s trip to Sharjah Stadium as they aim to notch a third-successive top-flight triumph.
\nHe said: \u201cMy contract with the team continues within the technical staff of Al Wasl. I was aware of negotiating with coaches after the departure of Laurentiu Reghecampf and respect the management\u2019s decisions.
\n\u201cThe new coach is good and most importantly it is the interest of the team.\u201d
\nAl Ain can gain instant revenge for Saturday\u2019s President\u2019s Cup round-of-16 elimination when they meet Ajman for the second time within a week, Fujairah could slip into the drop zone after they play third-placed Al Nasr and Bani Yas will hope to inflict an eighth defeat in nine AGL matches upon bottom-placed Hatta.
\nFallen 2019\/20 pacesetters Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club cannot afford more dropped points when they play Al Dhafra and Ittihad Kalba could end the weekend within the top five if they beat 11th-placed Khor Fakkan.
\nMATCH-WEEK NINE FIXTURES
\nThursday
\n18:00 Al Ain v Ajman
\n18:00 Al Nasr v Fujairah
\n21:00 Sharjah v Al Wasl
\nFriday
\n18:00 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club v Al Dhafra
\n18:00 Hatta v Bani Yas
\n21:00 Khor Fakkan v Ittihad Kalba
\n21:00 Al Jazira v Al Wahda<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abu Dhabi pride is on the line this weekend when second-placed Al Jazira welcome near-neighbours \u2013 and wannabe Arabian Gulf League title challengers \u2013 Al Wahda.
\nOnly three kilometres separate these great rivals on the capital\u2019s streets. Victory for Friday\u2019s hosts, however, would open up a gaping six-point chasm between them after nine match-weeks, plus deliver another setback to hopes of reeling in unbeaten leaders Sharjah.
\nWith no draws played out in this heated fixture since September 2016, 12 meetings ago, entertainment should be guaranteed when UAE record scorer Ali Mabkhout and national icon Ismail Matar are pitted against each other at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
\n\u201cWe are well aware of the importance of the Al Wahda match as it is a special one between the two teams,\u201d said Jazira boss Marcel Keizer.
\n\u201cThe enthusiasm of the derby gives a special flavour.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, ninth-placed Al Wasl are determined to show impending change at the top will not destabilise efforts versus Sharjah.
\nConfirmation Odair Hellmann had been ambitiously poached from Rio de Janeiro giants Fluminense arrived on Monday. The coveted Brazilian coach is expected to be in the dugout for match-week 10, meaning Emirati Salem Rabie remains in charge for Thursday\u2019s trip to Sharjah Stadium as they aim to notch a third-successive top-flight triumph.
\nHe said: \u201cMy contract with the team continues within the technical staff of Al Wasl. I was aware of negotiating with coaches after the departure of Laurentiu Reghecampf and respect the management\u2019s decisions.
\n\u201cThe new coach is good and most importantly it is the interest of the team.\u201d
\nAl Ain can gain instant revenge for Saturday\u2019s President\u2019s Cup round-of-16 elimination when they meet Ajman for the second time within a week, Fujairah could slip into the drop zone after they play third-placed Al Nasr and Bani Yas will hope to inflict an eighth defeat in nine AGL matches upon bottom-placed Hatta.
\nFallen 2019\/20 pacesetters Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club cannot afford more dropped points when they play Al Dhafra and Ittihad Kalba could end the weekend within the top five if they beat 11th-placed Khor Fakkan.
\nMATCH-WEEK NINE FIXTURES
\nThursday
\n18:00 Al Ain v Ajman
\n18:00 Al Nasr v Fujairah
\n21:00 Sharjah v Al Wasl
\nFriday
\n18:00 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club v Al Dhafra
\n18:00 Hatta v Bani Yas
\n21:00 Khor Fakkan v Ittihad Kalba
\n21:00 Al Jazira v Al Wahda<\/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\/8061"}],"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=8061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8062,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8061\/revisions\/8062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}