Battle for top spot resumes in Arabian Gulf League
dubai — The battle for the top spot in the Arabian Gulf League resumes this week as leaders Al Wasl and second-placed Al Ain look for victories in their respective games.
As the league enters the ninth round, Al Wasl lead the table with 20 points, while Al Ain are just two points behind the Dubai club.
On Thursday, Al Ain will travel to Fujairah to play Dibba at the Fujairah Stadium. Al Ain will be desperate for three points to keep the pressure on the league leaders Al Wasl.
They are likely to face stiff competition on the field from Dibba — a team that have taken points off champions Al Jazira and Shabab Al Ahli this season.
In another match on Thursday, Al Wasl will take on Ajman at Zabeel Stadium. Anything less than a victory on the home ground will be disappointing for the Al Wasl fans.
Ajman, on the other hand, will give their all after having suffered a defeat to Sharjah last week which brought them back to tenth place with seven points.
Thursday’s third game will be between Sharjah and thirdplaced Al Wahda at the Al Nahyan Stadium.
Al Wahda have just come off a 4-1 away win against Emirates, while Sharjah, who are in seventh place with nine points, had defeated Ajman in their previous game and want to move ahead in the table and continue their undefeated streak under coach Abdulaziz Al Anbari.
Champions Al Jazira will face Emirates at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Friday. The Abu Dhabi club are languishing in the sixth place with 10 points and they needed two late goals to salvage a point in the 2-2 draw with Al Ain on November 18.
Emirates, who are already in a battle to avoid relegation with just four points from eight games, lost to Al Wahda 4-1 last week.
Al Dhafra meet Hatta in the fifth game of the matchweek at the Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium. The game gives both teams a big chance to bounce back as they failed to win last week. Al Dhafra lost 0-3 to Al Wasl, while Hatta lost 1-5 to Al Nasr at home and sit in last place.
The round nine concludes with a Dubai derby between Shabab Al Ahli and Al Nasr at Zabeel Stadium. Shabab Al Ahli dropped points to Dibba last week in a 1-1 draw, and are currently in fourth place on level points with Al Nasr who sit in fifth place on goal difference.
Shabab Al Ahli drew four times in a row which led them to drop away from the top of the table by seven points.
Al Nasr, on the other hand, will be keen to get back into the top four with a victory.