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Knowing that his team Al Nasr will start firm favourites against hosts Emirates in their 14th round encounter of the Arabian Gulf League on Thursday, coach Ivan Jovanovic was expected to take things lightly. Instead, he was cautious and warned of a fightback from his rivals, who are on a five-match losing streak, in Friday's match.
"Emirates had a great start to the league campaign. But they did not get the desired results in the last five matches. However, they did give Al Ain and Al Ahli a run for their money in the last two matches. So, we expect a difficult game and as always away games are tough," Jovanovic told the media at the Al Nasr Club on Wednesday.
The target for the Blue Wave is to win every match and not to take things lightly, according to the coach. "Every point counts now as we head into the deciding stages of the competition. From here on, every loss or a draw will create more problems for us," said Jovanovic.
Al Nasr's surge in the title race has been given a hammer blow by Fujairah after rallying to snatch a hard-fought draw last week. With strong contenders Al Ain holding a nine-point lead and second-placed Al Ahli grabbing a six-point advantage, Al Nasr, on third spot with 25 points, face an uphill task. Jovanovic, though, is not prepared to throw in the towel just yet.
"At the start of the league, our target was to finish in the top three. Having said that, I still think we have a solid chance of having a crack at the title. If we win most of our matches and see some upsets for the top two teams, then things can change," he added.
Al Ain, according to Jovanovic, are the title favourites at the moment but warned that it is too early to predict. "Al Ain are playing well and are strong favourites to win the league. However, till now it has been a very competitive league. We have seen some close fights for every point and there is not much too choose among the other teams except Al Ain. During the last season also, the picture was not clear in the mid-stages of the league and Al Ahli made a late dent and won the title. So it's still a long way to go," he pointed out.
Al Nasr have an injury problem and will have to wait till Friday to determine whether defender Mubarak Saeed has recovered from a slight niggle.
"We have two days to know whether Saeed is fit to take the field against Emirates," the coach said.
Meanwhile, Al Ain have a great opportunity to inch closer to the title with victory for the taking against Al Dhafra when the two meet at Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Al Ain will, however, be have to wary of the fact that Al Dhafra will start on a high after inflicting a 1-0 defeat on heavyweights Al Jazira.
In Friday's third match at the Zabeel Stadium, Al Wasl, currently on fourth position, will look to inflict more misery on Al Jazira, who are lying 10th. Al Jazira, though, have every reason to fancy a turnaround with the arrival of their new manager Henk Ten Cate, the former Ajax and Panathinaikos manager. Cate has replaced Brazilian Abel Braga, under whom the team won thrice in 16 encounters.
Earlier on Thursday, fifth-placed Al Shabab will clash against hosts Sharjah, who are facing the threat of relegation after suffering eight defeats. In the second encounter on the same day, Al Wahda, who are in sixth position, will battle with Dibba.
ramdas@khaleejtimes.com
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