Abu Dhabi: Defending champions Al Ahli will be bidding to kick-start a stuttering campaign and shackle star striker Mirko Vucinic when they host second-place Al Jazira in the Arabian Gulf League this weekend.
The Red Knights lie fifth, three points adrift of their opponents on Saturday and five behind leaders Al Wahda, and their captain Grafite will be hoping to fire and outshine his Al Jazira counterpart Vucinic.
Like his side, Grafite has been below par so far this season, scoring only two goals in five games, while Vucinic has been in scintillating form and leads the scorers’ charts with 10.
The former Juventus striker scored all four goals in Al Jazira’s last league outing, a 4-3 victory over old foes Al Ain a week last Sunday, which was his second hat-trick of the season.
Yet the Pride of Abu Dhabi’s wily coach, the former Belgium defender, Eric Gerets, wants his side to balance their attacking verve with a meaner defence if they want to achieve league title success this season.
After the Al Ain game, he said: “What I think, hope and know is that we will not make the same kind of mistakes again. After all the time we have worked together, my team are in better shape.
“We only need a good game without mistakes. Then we can look everyone right in the eyes for the rest of the championship.”
Also on Saturday, leaders Al Wahda will be bidding to ruin new Al Wasl coach Gabriel Calderon’s first game in charge of the Cheetahs as the AGL resumes after a two-week break due to international matches.
Jose Peseiro’s men have enjoyed a superb campaign thus far, winning four and drawing one of their five matches.
Al Wasl, in stark contrast, have struggled badly and lie 10th, which resulted in ex-Brazil defender Jorginho, who won the 1994 World Cup, being replaced as coach by former Argentina midfielder Calderon on Tuesday.
Calderon became Al Wasl’s 10th coach in the last four years, but the club’s Chief Executive Officer, Ashraf Ahmad Mohammad, defended the need for change when he said: “Sometimes you have to judge a book by its cover. Al Wasl cannot be an experimental side, it’s a team where the people are not patient and they need stability.”
In Friday’s key games, third-place Al Shabab head to struggling Bani Yas, while Al Ain host Al Dhafra.
