Al Shabab take on Al Wasl in Dubai derby

Abu Dhabi: Diego Maradona's Al Wasl side take on city rivals Al Shabab in a Dubai derby in the pick of today's Etisalat Pro League matches.

With two wins and two draws, unbeaten Al Shabab will be looking to move into second place behind defending champions and current leaders Al Jazira with a win.

Second-placed Al Wasl, meanwhile, will be out to take precious points off rival title contenders.

Today's derby will be preceded by two other games, with Al Jazira hosting Emirates Club and Dubai playing at home Ajman.

Al Jazira have a good chance of strengthening their position at the top against an Emirates side who have been woefully out of form, losing four of their five games.

Poor start

But Franky Vercauteren, the Al Jazira coach, struck a note of caution after his side's come-from-behind 4-3 win over Ajman. "I hope we show the same level that we did against Ajman. We were 2-0 down but we played well in the second half and I hope my players can play that way for the full 90 minutes," he said at Thursday's press conference.

"Ajman are a tough side, they have some very offensive players and they have a good balance," added Vercauteren, who welcomes back the national team and Olympic team players to his squad.

Tomorrow's set of three matches sees Al Wahda visit Al Ahli in the late game after unbeaten Al Ain take on Bani Yas, while Sharjah host Al Nasr.

Under new coach Gabriel Calderon, Bani Yas will be looking to put their poor start behind them, but Al Ain have been in great form and will be confident going into this Abu Dhabi derby.