3 strong confrontations at the top, middle and bottom in round 23

The 23rd round of the Professional Football League will open tomorrow evening, with three confrontations carrying varying dimensions between the struggle at the top, improving positions, and escaping from the bottom, topped by Al Ain’s mission seeking to expand the gap at the top and getting closer to clinching the title, while Sharjah meets Al Wahda, and Kalba hosts its counterpart, Bani Yas.

The Al Ain team seems to have the opportunity to take an additional step closer to winning the title, when it undertakes a risky mission against its host Al Bataeh at Khalid bin Mohammed Stadium, in search of achieving the full three points. Al-Zaeem, who enters the match leading with 56 points, is experiencing a state of technical stability, and his victory over his direct competitor for the title, Shabab Al-Ahly, in the last round, was a great morale boost towards achieving the dream of the “triple”, after qualifying for the President’s Cup final to face Al-Jazira, and the Abu Dhabi Bank Cup final against Al-Wahda.

For his part, Al-Bataeh, who is in twelfth place with 19 points, seeks to achieve a surprise and contradict expectations by coming out with a positive result, especially since it represents a great morale boost in the struggle for survival, and the team enters the confrontation without losing in the last 4 matches (one win and 3 draws).

The confrontation between Sharjah and Al Wahda has a special artistic character, with the first appearance of the national coach, Hassan Al Abdouli, at the head of Al Wahda’s technical staff, succeeding Serbian Darko Milanic, in an attempt to restore balance after a series of fluctuating results.

Al-Anabi enters the match with 36 points in fifth place, and realizes that winning has become a necessity to maintain its chances of competing for the continental qualifying positions, especially with the closeness in points in this region. On the other hand, Sharjah, which is seventh with 25 points, has no better option than victory, not only to stay away from the danger zones, but also to improve its position in the standings and re-enter the competition circle.

The confrontation between Kalba and its guest, Bani Yas, appears to be one of the most sensitive matches of the round. In a confrontation that does not accept half-measures.

Kalba enters the match in tenth place with 23 points. On the other hand, Baniyas occupies eleventh place with 22 points, after collecting 11 points in the last six matches, which is the same as its score in the first 16 rounds.