Jorge Valdivia likely to make Al Wahda debut

Abu Dhabi - The Chilean playmaker had arrived only on August 21 and missed Al Wahda's first League fixture against promoted side Dibba Al Fujairah, just a day earlier.

 Jorge Valdivia is likely to make his Al Wahda debut against strong contenders Al Shabab in the Arabian Gulf League on Sunday night.
The Chilean playmaker had arrived only on August 21 and missed Al Wahda's first League fixture against promoted side Dibba Al Fujairah, just a day earlier.
And Al Wahda coach Javier Aguirre didn't play the former Al Ain man in the Arabian Gulf Cup fixture against Al Fujairah on August 28 as some paper work needed to be sorted out.
Valdivia was then away on international duty with Chile on September 5, forcing him to miss the Cup game against Dibba Al Fujairah.
The 31-year-old could make his debut at home against Al Shabab although the decision lay with coach Aguirre.
Valdivia, as well as midfielder Denilson and defender Hamdan Al Kamali, took part in the training session and Aguirre said that a decision would be taken prior to the game.
The Mexican coach said that Al Shabab will be a stiff test for his side. "The game will not be easy. Al Shabab are a strong team who have stability in terms of their coaching staff. But we will be looking to continue our winning start in the League," Aguirre said. Al Wahda began the League by blanking Dibba Al Fujairah 4-0.
Al Wahda have scored 10 goals in three games but have conceded six and Aguirre said that they would have to address that as soon as possible. "Al Shabab are an offensive side and good on the counter. And we have to be tighter in our defence. We made quite a few defensive errors in our previous games and we have to rectify that," he said.
Meanwhile, Caio Junior's Al Shabab had beaten Al Sharjah 2-1 in their opener. Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain take on Al Wasl at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai and the former's coach Zlatko Dalic expects it to be a strong confrontation.
Al Ain began their campaign with a 3-1 win over Al Dhafrah at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, while Al Wasl were impressive in their 2-1 victory over Al Jazira at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
"I expect it to be a strong confrontation between the two teams. Al Wasl beat a strong team like Al Jazira and they will be tough opponents," Dalic said.
"Al Wasl also had a bit of stability over the past few weeks, unlike us, where we missed a lot of players on international duty. We have to gauge the level of readiness of our players. But I hope we can put on a good show and return with three points," the Croatian added.
james@khaleejtimes.com