Zaccheroni’s UAE up against Uzbeks today

UAE face Uzbekistan in a friendly today in Al Ain as Alberto Zaccheroni looks for his first win since taking charge of the football team last month. The game, which kicks off at 4.55pm at the Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, will be Zaccheroni’s second after the UAE were beaten 1-0 by Haiti at the same venue on Friday. World No 76 Uzbekistan are familiar rivals for the hosts, who are ranked four places higher. The two sides have played against each other in 15 matches, with the UAE winning eight times and Uzbekistan three times. They last met in a friendly in October 2014, which the Uzbeks won 4-0. Zaccheroni, 64, will be without key players including Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Khalil and Ismail Matar, due to injury.