Al Ain wary of wounded Wahda

Abu Dhabi - 'The Boss' visit Al Nahyan Stadium in search of fourth successive win in Arabian Gulf League

 Al Ain's Arabian Gulf League title defence is going along without any glitches and coach Zlatko Dalic urged his side to continue to keep up the same intensity and form when they take on Al Wahda.
'The Boss' visit the Al Nahyan Stadium for their fourth match of the League and are keen on making it four from four. The Garden City club began with a win over Al Dhafrah after which they blanked Al Wasl.
Fresh from their 2-1 win over Al Sharjah, Dalic's boys come up against an Al Wahda side who started well but have stuttered along the way. Al Wahda defeated newcomers Dibba before suffering a loss against Al Shabab. They then went down fighting to Al Jazira in the Derby last week. Another Derby comes up on Saturday night and Dalic was aware of the challenges against a team, who are licking their wounds.
"I expect it to be a very strong match against Al Wahda at their home and in front of their fans. They lost two tough games against Al Shabab and Al Jazira and will be looking to bounce back. We have to be cautious about that but also make sure we play a strong game and get the three points," said Dalic.
The Croatian was pleased with the good start and how they have shaped up but felt that they could still improve. "We have three wins now but we have to follow that up with even more better results. That is our goal. It means we have to win at the Al Nahyan Stadium. We are playing good football but there have been some errors which we have to correct," he said.
"We will put in a strong showing in the Derby. The players don't need extra motivation since it is a Derby. They are motivated enough to do well and will go all out to return with three points," added the 48-year-old. Meanwhile, Al Wahda coach Javier Aguirre was preparing for the second of back-to-back Derbies and said that they shouldn't make the same mistakes which cost them the game against Al Jazira. Al Wahda conceded two goals in the first half before bouncing back in the second and were seconds away from a draw. But a Yaser Matar stunner denied them a point.
"It will again be a good contest between two good teams. It will not be easy for us because we lost two close games against Al Shabab and Al Jazira. But we have to put that behind now and focus on the match against Al Ain. We are playing in our backyard and we have to go out there and win three points to pull our campaign back on track," said Aguirre. Aguirre pointed out that Kuwaiti defender Hussain Fadhel's early exit because of injury made things worse for them against Al Jazira.
"We made a lot of mistakes and conceded two early goals. That is unacceptable. The team was also affected by the exit of Fadhel and there was a lack of focus. We talked about it and worked on it and we will be better in the next game," the Mexican said. Meanwhile striker Amer Omar promised a better showing against Al Ain. "We have turned the page and we are determined to come up with a good performance and win the three points," said Omar.

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Win for Al Wahda in three Arabian Gulf League matches

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We will put in a strong showing in the Derby
- Zlatko Dalic