Buoyant Al Ain takes on Salmiya

Hosts Al Ain take on Salmiya of Kuwait in the second round of the 18th GCC clubs league winners championship at Qattara stadium today. Kick-off is at 5pm. Both teams have three points from first round wins. Al Ain beat West Rifa'a of Bahrain 2-1 in the opening game while 1998 world top scorer Jasim Al Howaidi headed Salmiya to victory over Ittihad.

Both Al Ain and Salmiya have been training hard for the clash. Al Ain trained under the watchful eye of their Tunisian coach Murad Mahjoob. The training was attended by all the players who looked enthusiastic and confidident.

There was some cause for concer when Al Ain's first choice striker Majed Al Owais, who has only recently recovered from injury, felt some pain during the training. His participation in today's game is doubtful at least in the first half.

The Kuwaiti side trained twice yesterday. Their squad looks dangerous following the courage they displayed when battling the Saudi outfit. The team is spearheaded by Jasim Al Howaidi, Bashar Abdullah, Ali Marwy, Ali Ridha and their skipper Samir Al Marta who is due to fly back to Kuwait immediately after the match to sit for his college exams.

On the other hand, Al Ain will face a problem in the front line. Their coach Murad Mahjoob depended heavily in the opening game on the midfielders to score. A big crowd is likely to attend today's decisive tie as victory will help either team to advance to the top of the standings.

In today's second match Al Ittihad of Qatar will face West Rifa'a of Bahrain. Both teams lost their first round matches and they are still to open their account in the championship.

Rifa'a were beaten 2-1 by the hosts and the Qateris were surprised by Oman's Dhafar by the same margin. The two teams are looking to make up for their losses and win their first points. The drop of a single point will hinder their march and dash their hopes in this two-week event.