At 16:55 this afternoon, the Sharjah team will receive its guest, Al-Wahda, the “defending champion”, in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Professional League Cup competition (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Football Cup), to determine the team that qualifies for the semi-finals, after the first leg ended in favor of… “Al-Annabi” with a clean goal.
“The King” goes into the confrontation with the slogan that there is no alternative to winning, with a difference of two goals, if it wants to qualify directly, while a draw will lead the match directly to penalty kicks.
On the other hand, Al-Wahda goes into the match in a good position as it has two chances, as a win or a draw is enough for it at the very least to obtain the qualification card, and the direct confrontations between them in the competition are in its favor, as in 11 previous matches it won six matches, compared to only two victories for “The King”. They tied three times.
In the second match, Al-Nasr will host the Shabab Al-Ahly team at 19:45 pm at Al Maktoum Stadium, in the “Dubai Derby”, which will be promising in light of the historical rivalry and the result of the first leg, which was decided by the “Dubai Knights” 2-0, which is a very positive result on paper. But according to the scale of “derby” matches, it is not enough to determine the finalist.
The two sides are equal in the 12 historical confrontations they brought together in the competition, as Al-Nasr achieved five victories, and the same for Shabab Al-Ahly, the last of which was the first leg in the current edition, while they tied twice.
The “Dean” realizes that the task will not be easy, and he will need his players to have their day, and to take advantage of half the opportunities to score, as he needs to win by a difference of three goals to guarantee direct qualification, while a victory by a difference of two goals will mean a decision via penalty kicks.
For its part, Shabab Al-Ahly enters, and it is an extraordinary candidate, to obtain the qualification ticket, as it presented a strong performance in the first leg that deserved to be victorious, and it also has a two-goal advantage in the first leg, which enhances its chances of crossing into the semi-finals in more than one scenario, the least of which is a loss. By one goal.
The quarter-final matches will conclude tomorrow evening, when Bani Yas will host its guest Al Wasl at 16:55 pm in Al Shamkha, and Al Ain will be a heavy guest on Al Jazira at 19:45 pm.
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