They enter the confrontation with similar conditions in the struggle for the lead

Al-Jazeera and Shabab Al-Ahli «Complex task»

Youri Cesar and Sultan Zayed during a previous match for Shabab Al Ahli and Al Jazira. Emirates Today

Al Jazira and Shabab Al Ahli face a "complicated task" when they meet in the 19th round of the ADNOC Professional League, at 5:45 pm at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, as the match is crucial for the two teams in the struggle for the top spots in the league standings.

The two teams enter the meeting in similar circumstances, after calling the President's Cup competition, with Al Jazira losing to Sharjah, and Shabab Al Ahli to Al Ain in the quarter-finals, as the league championship has become the "last chance" for the two teams to achieve a title in the current season, after they were eliminated from the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup, and finally the President's Cup.

Shabab Al Ahli tops the standings with 39 points, while Al Jazira has 33 points in sixth place, as the Dubai Knights seek to hold on to its position in the lead, especially as it faces strong competition from Al Wasl, Al Ain, Al Wahda and Sharjah clubs, while Al Jazira has no alternative but to win to maintain its chances in the competition for the title. This match is the 28th that brings together the two teams in the Pro League, as they met before in 27 confrontations, Shabab Al-Ahli excelled by 12 victories against 10 victories for Al-Jazira and the two teams drew in 5 confrontations, and Shabab Al-Ahli is the only team that beats Al-Jazira during direct confrontations in the Professional League, in contrast, Al-Jazira more than scored against Shabab Al-Ahli in the Professional League (51 goals), while Shabab Al-Ahli scored 47 goals against its opponent.

Shabab Al Ahli is betting on Argentine Federico Cartabia, who will play his 50th match in the Pro League, as he scored seven goals in 13 games in the ADNOC Professional League this season, and if he scores a goal against Al Jazira, he will equal his scoring tally during 36 games in three seasons in the Pro League (8 goals), and Cartabia is the most who contributed to the goals for Shabab Al Ahli in the league this season by scoring 7 goals and 4 assists. For his part, Ali Mabkhout is the top scorer of the two teams with 12 goals, as he contributed the league's all-time top scorer with an average of 10 goals, in his last 10 matches against Shabab Al-Ahli in the professional (7 goals and 3 assists).