Al Wasl aims to take the lead in “Asia 2” from the stronghold of the “Red Wolf”

Al-Wasl faces a strong confrontation when it visits Bahrain’s Al-Muharraq in the third round of Group A of the AFC Champions League 2, at 22:15 pm today at Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium in Bahrain, as this confrontation is considered a struggle for the top of the group, as the two teams lead the standings with six points each after winning the first two rounds over both Iranian Esteghlal and Jordanian Al-Wehdat.

The confrontation between the two teams carries exciting memories, as their last official meeting was in the final of the 27th Gulf Club Cup, which was held in June 2012, when the late Argentine legend Diego Armando Maradona was leading the Al Wasl team and achieved a victory in Bahrain 3-1, before losing by the same result in a dramatic manner in Zabeel, and the Bahraini team won the title on penalties.

Al-Wasl enters the match in high spirits after its victory in the “Dubai Derby” over Al-Nasr by two goals to one in the sixth round of the ADNOC Professional League, which strengthens the players’ determination to continue their victories.

Al-Wasl seeks to continue to appear strongly in the continental championship under the leadership of Portuguese coach Luis Castro, especially after the distinguished performance in the first and second rounds, as the team aspires to continue continental victories after it won in the first round over Iranian Esteghlal with a historic score of 7-1 in Zabeel before surpassing Jordanian Al-Wahdat 2-1 in the second round away from home, by taking advantage of the distinguished team performance. And the high fighting spirit shown by the players. The technical staff, led by Castro, is betting on exploiting the players’ experience and the team’s cohesion from the first minute, with a focus on addressing the defensive errors that appeared in some local league matches and wasting easy opportunities, especially in the last Al-Nasr match despite winning the match.

On the other hand, Al-Muharraq is considered one of the oldest clubs in Bahrain, as it was founded in 1928. It is known by the nickname “The Red Wolf” and has a large fan base. Its training is currently supervised by Brazilian coach Fernando Manuel. The team is distinguished by the presence of distinguished players, most notably Juninho, Arthur Resende, Bruno Santos and Oliveira, who have shown high levels in the past matches.

Al-Muharraq has been performing at great levels since the beginning of the current season, as it leads the local league standings, equal to Al-Malikiyah, with 11 points for each team, after Al-Muharraq tied in the fifth round against Al-Riffa, with a goal for each team last Friday.