|
Abu Dhabi: The etisalat First Division Football League is heading towards one of its most exciting finishes with almost five teams in with a chance of winning the title with two matches to go.
Al Shabab on 38 points are in pole position with a three-point lead over Al Jazira while President's Cup winners Al Ahli are just a point below with 34.
Al Ain and Sharjah are both on 32 and there is an outside possibility that more than one or all five of the above can end up on 38 points after the final league matches on May 25.
Al Shabab host last year's league and President's Cup winners Al Wasl and have to win today to put pressure on Al Jazira with whom they clash on the final day needing only a draw.
A loss or draw today will then leave Al Jazira in a better position as they need to win their next two to win their first-ever league title.
Lurking behind the top two are Al Ahli who can come into contention and make it a three-way tie at the top on points.
With Al Ain and Sharjah also mathematically possible to share the top spot the title could very well be decided on either of the below two factors.
Final match
If two teams are level on points at the end of 22 matches the goal difference will be ignored and a play-off will decide the 2007-08 champions as it did two seasons ago when Al Ahli beat Al Wahda in the play-off.
However, if more than two teams are locked with equal number of points then the goal difference first, followed by the goals for and goals against will be taken into account.
If the teams are still level after this then a draw of lots will decide the winner.
Al Shabab's fate is in their own hands as they can win both their matches and win their third League title after a gap of 12 years.
Similarly, Al Jazira have to win today against Al Dhafra and then go on to defeat Al Shabab in their final home match to lift a historic first league title.
Thus the top two need not rely on other results and will be first looking to win their respective matches today.
What makes this penultimate round of matches that much more interesting is that four derbies are slated for today which brings in prestige and traditional rivalry into play apart from the title race.
While the respective band of supporters will be rooting for their teams, etisalat, the sponsors of the league will also have a busy evening as cell phones will not stop ringing through the two-hour period starting from 7.50pm.
UAE First Division:
Team P W D L F A Pts
1. Al Shabab 20 11 5 4 40 30 38
2. Al Jazira 20 10 5 5 43 29 35
3. Al Ahli 20 9 7 4 41 25 34
4. Al Ain 20 9 5 6 37 30 32
5. Sharjah 20 9 5 6 31 28 32
6. Al Wasl 20 7 6 7 34 31 27
7. Al Shaab 20 7 6 7 35 42 27
8. Al Nasr 20 6 7 7 36 34 25
9. Al Dhafra 20 7 4 9 31 36 25
10. Wahda 20 6 6 8 36 38 24
11. Emirate 20 3 6 11 34 51 15
12. Hatta 20 3 4 13 20 44 13
fixtures
Playing today:
(All matches start at 7.50 pm)
Al Shabab vs Al Wasl
Al Dhafra vs Al Jazira
Al Nasr vs Al Ahli
Al Wahda vs Al Ain
Emirate vs Sharjah
Al Shaab vs Hatta
What makes this penultimate round of matches that much more interesting is that four derbies are slated for today which brings in prestige and traditional rivalry into play apart from the title race...
|
