Dubai: Al Jazira will be hoping to dent a bit of the Al Ain pride when they host the club from the garden city in this weekend’s derby on Saturday.
The two sides had settled for a 2-2 draw when they met in the eighth round last November. But since then the two teams have taken different paths — Al Ain heading the 12-teams standings with 41 points, while the defending champions are now in fifth with 25 points.
Al Jazira has been far from impressive in the defence of their crown with the last round on February 28 seeing them slip to a 1-2 defeat to Shabab Al Ahli Dubai. But that has very much been their story while dropping points against weaker sides such as Ajman and Dibba in the second round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL).
In other games on Saturday, Sharjah will host Ajman while Al Wasl will make the long journey to Al Dhafra for the two early matches.
On Friday, Dibba will host sixth-placed Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, while Al Nasr will play host to Hatta in the two early matches, while Emirates will make the arduous trip from Ras Al Khaimah to play Al Wahda.
