Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Wahda…the 34th football summit

The Shabab Al-Ahly team has the opportunity to regain the top spot in the Professional Football League standings, when it welcomes its guest Al-Wahda at 9:30 pm today at Rashid Stadium in Dubai, as part of the 34th football summit between the two teams, postponed from the 16th round of the competition, which also witnesses two matches at the same time between Bani Yas and its guest Al-Wasl, and the Sharjah match against Dibba.

The two sides of the confrontation had the opportunity to prepare for the match after their matches in the AFC Champions League for the Elite were postponed as a result of the current regional situation, which makes the two teams go into the match with full physical readiness and complete ranks.

The hosts enter the match with 42 points in second place behind Al Ain, who are leaders with 44 points. They have no choice but to win to regain the lead, while a draw will go in favor of Al Ain, which will remain at the top, noting that 14 matches between “Dubai Knights” and “Al Annabi” ended in a draw, which is the most frequent result between two teams in the history of the tournament.

The coach of the Portuguese Shabab Al-Ahly team, Paulo Sousa, described the confrontation as one of the biggest challenges facing his team, given the strength of the opponent and the players it possesses with high technical capabilities.

Souza said in the press conference: “The match requires us to perform at the best possible level on both the individual and collective levels. We have great confidence and realize that this stage is one of the decisive moments.”

On the other hand, Al Wahda team, which is in third place with 33 points, realizes that victory will put it back in the title competition, especially since it has a confrontation with Al Ain in the middle of this month in the 20th round, and victory in both of them means that “Al Annabi” has regained its place at the heart of the competition for the title.

The team participated in a training session at the training field in the Shahama area under the leadership of its Slovenian coach, Darko Milanic, in preparation for today’s match. The preparations witnessed the participation of all players amid great competition among them for the opportunity to participate in the summit match.

The confrontation bears the number 34 between the two teams. Shabab Al-Ahly achieved 13 victories compared to 6 for Al-Wahda, while draws dominated 14 matches. “Dubai Knights” scored 58 goals, while “The Excellencies” reached the net 45 times.

Baniyas – Al Wasl

Baniyas hopes to benefit from the state of euphoria it is experiencing after tasting the taste of victories last week with its away victory over Al-Bataeh with a clean goal, when it receives its guest, Al-Wasl, at 9:30 pm, who is looking to stop the fluctuation of results and get closer to the golden square.

Al-Samawi enters the confrontation in 12th place with 14 points, and realizes that victory over a team the size of Al-Wasl will have a major impact, not only on its position in the standings, but also psychologically, as it will give the players a strong impetus to move forward in moving away from the circle of danger.

For its part, Al-Wasl will go into the match with 30 points in fifth place, and a victory will give them access to fourth place. His joy may double if Al-Wahda loses, which is facing a strong challenge at the same time against Shabab Al-Ahly, as this will mean its rise to third place.

History stands with the “Emperor”, as he did not lose in the last 10 matches against Baniyas in the professional league (8 wins and 2 draws), and he is looking forward to achieving a double victory back and forth against Baniyas during one season in the league for the fifth time.

It is noteworthy that 29 matches were played between the two teams, during which Al Wasl prevailed with 15 victories compared to 7 for Baniyas, and they tied in seven matches. “The Yellow” scored 49 goals, while “The Sky” scored 33 goals.

Sharjah – Dibba

The Sharjah team is looking forward to achieving a double victory back and forth against Dibba in one season, when it receives them at 9:30 pm today at Sharjah Stadium, in a match that the “King” enters under pressure due to its recent results, while its guest suffers the same difficulties, as the two teams seek to stay away from the circle of danger.

Sharjah occupies 11th place with 17 points, and the team is having a difficult season after losing 10 matches, the last of which was a 5-0 defeat against Al Jazira, which constituted a warning bell for the team whose level declined rapidly after being crowned the AFC Champions League 2 at the end of last season.

On the other hand, Al-Nawakhatha, who are in the penultimate position with 13 points, are hoping to pull off a surprise by winning the match and taking a step forward in the relegation struggle, especially after the good morale the team is in after their draw in the last round against Al-Nasr.