Al Wasl, Al Nasr all set to tackle Sharjah, Baniyas

In the early game, Al Nasr host promoted Baniyas at the Maktoum Stadium, but there is no doubt that all eyes will be on the Al Wasl-Sharjah encounter, as both sides are yet to win a match in the competition and both Guimaraes and his counterpart Manuel Cajuda will be keen to throw the kitchen sink at the other.

Guimaraes has been let down severely by his men since the season got underway three weeks ago. His side was held to a last-minute 3-3 draw by Baniyas in their UFL opener and he will be without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Majid Nasser and Yasser Salem who were both sent off in the 3-2 loss to Al Shabab.

Dozed off

Guimaraes was forced to swallow another bitter pill in the form of his side's 2-2 draw with city rivals Al Nasr on the opening night of their Etisalat Cup campaign.

The Costa Rican said his side had played perfect soccer for 85 minutes, but had failed to return with full points from the encounter because they dozed off for five minutes, which let Al Nasr leave with a share of the spoils.

Tonight, he has warned his men, he will tolerate no lapse in concentration. "We had a talk about that in the dressing room and I feel the players have understood that we need to concentrate throughout the match.

"I think we have learnt our lessons and the players are confident we can have a good match against Sharjah. They are a good side, very well organised, but we'll field our best team forward.

"I think we have worked well this past week and have improved and if we continue to do the work we do in practice there is a good possibility we will win the match."

While victory will ease the pressure on Guimaraes, Sharjah, who beat Abu Dhabi giants Al Wahda 2-0 on the road in their Etisalat Cup opener, are adamant they will not be pushovers. Team manager Badr Ahmad said: "Everybody is playing, except Nawaf Mubarak who is injured. We hope to play the same way we played with Al Wahda and I hope we can achieve a similar result."

Al Nasr are coming off a shiny 4-1 victory over Ras Al Khaimah outfit Emirates Club, and moreover their draw against Al Wasl should stand them in good stead against Baniyas. Coach Frank Pagelsdorf said: "I don't think we played very well against Al Wasl, but we fought hard and got a point from the match and that's important. Winning is best for your confidence and I'm very happy with the way the side is playing."

Today: Al Nasr v Baniyas (5.05pm); Sharjah v Al Wasl (8pm)

Tomorrow: Al Ain v Ajman (5.05pm); Al Shabab v Al Dhafra (8pm)

Monday: Emirates v Al Ahli (5.05pm); Al Jazira v Al Wahda (8pm)

fixtures