Al Ain head coach Zlatko Dalic has admitted he has concerns in defence as his side prepare for two homes games in six days.
The Croatian is looking forward to having players back from the international break, although the squad will only train for the first time as a whole tonight ahead of Al Dhafra’s visit tomorrow for their Arabian Gulf League encounter.
Dalic said: “It’s a challenge as we have two matches on Friday and Wednesday. The goal is to win both of them, especially as we are playing at home in both of them.”
Al Ain lost 1-0 to Kalba in the League Cup last Thursday and despite scoring three goals in their last league match, lost 4-3 at Al Jazira.
“We need a good performance in defence as there have been a lot of mistakes in previous matches,” Dalic added. “A problem of equal proportion has been the absence of 11 players due to international commitments. I hope on Thursday that everyone will be in training.”
Dhafra have drawn their opening five league games but head to Al Ain in good spirits after recording a 3-1 League Cup win over Fujairah last Friday.
In this Friday’s other games, Al Nasr host Fujairah and Emirates welcome Sharjah. Sharjah have won once in five league games but are fresh from their 1-0 win over Bani Yas in the Arabian Gulf League Cup.
Emirates are sixth in the table following a steady start to the season, from which they’ve picked up two wins and a draw.
Al Nasr have two wins and two draws and will relish facing a Fujairah side who are winless and the joint lowest scorers in the division.