Al Ain and Al Jazira set to keep league lead

Dubai: UAE Football League (UFL) pacesetters Al Ain and Al Jazira should collect full points at home when they host Al Dhafra and Baniyas during Match Week 6, while Ajman will be hoping to end their losing streak at Sharjah.

Al Ain and Jazira have earned 13 points from the five matches played so far with four wins and a draw, but the men from the oasis town of Al Ain lead the table by virtue of a better goal difference.

Not much is expected to change at the top when they roll out the carpet for Baniyas and Al Dhafra, ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, but while Jazira have a better chance of pulling off victory against Dhafra this evening (kick-off 5pm), Al Ain will have to be vigilant against promoted Baniyas, who have proved to be the early surprise package of the 2009/2010 UFL season, and are yet to lose a match in top-flight UAE soccer.

Al Nasr have prepared themselves for another Dubai derby and there is no doubt that Frank Pagelsdorf's men will be looking to build on last week's superb 3-1 win over Al Wasl when they host Al Ahli tonight (kick-off 8pm).

Victory over Wasl took some pressure off Pagelsdorf but he will need to work his magic and inspire his men to another win as his employers are determined to finish among the top four. "We played a good match against Al Wasl; we were in a difficult situation because we missed a few players, but we fought well," Pagelsdorf said.

Looking forward

Meanwhile, Al Wasl, who also play at home but are currently ranked ninth, face a tough test against Wahda on Sunday (8pm kick-off). Their coach Alexandre Guimaraes knows his job could be on line if his side slips further, but said: "A coach has to find solutions and that's what we've been doing from the beginning. Of course this is not how we'd planned to start, but we have to look forward and win every match ..."

Completing Match Week 6 is the tie between Emirates and their hosts Al Shabab.