Al Ain is looking forward to maintaining a glimmer of hope in skipping the group stage of the AFC Champions League (Elite) for football, when it hosts Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan at the Jar Stadium, at 18:00 this evening, within the sixth round of the tournament.
Over the past five matches that Al Ain played in the Elite League, the team did not achieve any victory, ranking last in the group with one point.
Al-Zaeem tied with Al-Sadd of Qatar 1-1, and lost to Al-Gharafa of Qatar 2-4, Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia 4-5, Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia 1-5, and Al-Ahly of Saudi Arabia 1-2.
Al Ain was affected by the weakness of the back line, after conceding 17 goals in the tournament, making it the weakest defense among the 12 teams in its group, while scoring nine goals.
The holder of the title of the last edition of the AFC Champions League is in an unenviable position after the results he achieved from the past five rounds, which may make him vulnerable to bidding farewell to the continental competition from the group stage.
The negative results of the Asian champions prompted Al Ain management to dismiss the Argentine coach, Hernan Crespo, due to poor results, and to sign the Portuguese coach, Leonardo Jardim, but he faced great misfortune in losing to Al-Ahly of Saudi Arabia, despite the advantage his team had during the match.
Al Ain will have to return from the Jar Stadium with the three points, as he did not return
Al-Zaeem has the luxury of losing any new points, hoping to revive its chances by reserving one of the qualifying seats for the second round of the Elite League, after losing 14 consecutive points from its past five matches.
Al Ain fans are counting a lot on the Moroccan striker, Sofiane Rahimi, to regain the brilliance he had in the last edition, when he scored 13 goals and was one of the influential elements in winning the title.
Al Ain’s chances of qualifying seem to exist theoretically, with two matches remaining against Al Gharafa of Qatar and Al-Shorta of Iraq, and winning them, in addition to the Pakhtakor match, may make its chances of qualifying strong, especially since Al Rayyan, which is in sixth place, has only four points in its tally.
Al Ain has a clear advantage in its previous matches against Pakhtakor, as it played four matches against them in the AFC Champions League, winning two matches, drawing one, and losing the same.
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