Kalba v Al Jazira
Eric Gerets, the Al Jazira coach, was guarding against complacency as the team travel to Kalba for a meeting with the bottom team in the league. “If my players are thinking we are playing against a team that is in the bottom of the league, then we are in trouble for sure,” he said. “But I have seen a lot of improvement in them, particularly in the 2-1 win over Al Nasr in the last game. I am happy with their progress and would like to think they can improve further when we play Kalba.”
Al Nasr v Al Dhafra
Despite surrendering a two-goal lead to settle for a 2-2 result against reigning champions Al Ahli, the Al Dhafra coach Marion Ion says they can still take a lot of positives when they travel to Al Nasr. “Sometimes we feel that we were undone at the end, but we were playing against the champions,” he said. “If we can keep playing the way we did as in the last game, I think we have a good chance of returning with the three points. Of course, it won’t be easy, because Nasr is another big team.”
Baniyas v Ajman
Baniyas will be looking to extend their winning streak to three when they meet Ajman at home. “It took a while for the players to get their act together. We worked hard on the mistakes we did, and the players have responded very well in the last two games,” said coach Luis Garcia. “We needed a win very badly at the start, but that didn’t happen. Now we have won two games and the confidence has returned. Obviously, we want to take the positives forward and win the three points against Ajman.”
Sharjah v Al Wasl
Paulo Bonamigo is hoping a meeting between players and the club chairman Sheikh Ahmed Al Thani will raise their spirits when they face Al Wasl at home. “I’m sure this will boost the team and help to get us back to a good level of performance and results,” Bonamigo said. “We are having a tough time, not because we have played bad, but we haven’t had the luck in some of the matches. So we are trying to keep the morale and spirits of our players high in order to overcome the current situation.”
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