ABU DHABI // Quique Sanchez Flores says pre-match plans and instructions from outside the pitch will be of no effect if the players cannot adapt to the situations on the pitch.
Al Ain meet Al Jazira in a key League Cup at Al Wahda’s Al Nahyan Stadium on Thursday night with both teams depleted because of national duties and injuries.
“We can do a lot of work in readiness and draw up a game plan but what we can’t foresee is the situations that would follow during the match,” the Al Ain coach said on Wednesday.
“If the players can adjust and adapt to the situations, they can strike a good balance and control the game. I think Al Ain have such quality to handle such situations.
“We noticed some changes in Jazira’s style of play under Zenga but when we have the ball in our possession we will dictate the terms. This is the quality we have in our lineup.”
Flores has six players on national duty; Walter Zenga’s Jazira have to cope with the absence of three Emiratis and the injured Nelson Valdez, the Uruguayan striker.
Missing in Al Ain’s line-up are; Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Ahmed, Mohanned Salem, Ismail Ahmed, Mohammed Abdulrahman and Khaled Issa, the goalkeeper.
“If we take the positives from their absence, it provides the chance to the fringe players to establish a regular place in the line-up,” Sanchez Flores said. “As always, our objective is to win every game and every competition. Al Ain have the quality to achieve these ambitions.”
Helal Saeed is likely to return for Al Ain after suffering an injury in the season-opening Super Cup. The veteran midfielder last week made his first appearance, for the reserve team, since that game in August.
Sanchez Flores has led Al Ain to four games without defeat in all competitions since taking charge of the Garden City Club more than a month ago.
Zenga will have similar ideas after taking over the Jazira reins from the Spaniard Luis Milla, who left the club after 29 games and 10 wins in all competitions.
“The absence of players in my team for any reason is no excuse when we play Al Ain,” Zenga said. “The match is between two leading teams and it will be a big game even without several players on both sides. We won’t take a poor performance as an excuse for not playing for a good result.”
The Italian’s first game in charge ended in frustration when Dubai came from 2-0 behind to share a point in the Arabian Gulf League.
“That game is behind us,” Zenga said. “We have worked very hard and increased the intensity since then. We didn’t have much time between the two games but we are ready for Al Ain.
“Our objectives are very clear. We are working to raise the levels, both physically and mentally. We have put maximum effort to prepare for this game and the rest of the season.”
Ali Kasheif, the goalkeeper, along with Khamis Ismail and Ali Mabkhout, the midfielder and forward, have joined the national team squad preparing for the Asian Cup qualifiers against Hong Kong on November 15 and Vietnam four days later.
Valdez has been ruled out for two weeks for a recurring knee injury he suffered in the draw against Dubai.
Al Shaab v Al Wahda
Al Wahda and Al Shaab, return from defeats to Sharjah and Emirates, respectively, in the Arabian Gulf League, with the aim of keeping alive their hopes in the League Cup on Thursday. Wahda manager Karel Jarolim, below, will be without several regulars — Ismail Matar, Hamdan Al Kamali, Eisa Ahmed, Salem Saleh and Mahmoud Khamis — all drafted in the UAE squad preparing for the Asian Cup qualifiers against Hong Kong and Vietnam next week. Hussain Fadel, the Kuwaiti centre-back, has joined his national team while Mohammed Al Shehhi, the Emirati forward, has been ruled out because of injury.
Emirates v Al Nasr
Emirates will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run in the League Cup when they face Al Nasr in Ras Al Khaimah on Thursday. Eid Baroot’s team have a win and two draws from their opening three games, and they can consolidate their position in Group B with three points from their home game. Nasr will have other ideas as they play after a heartbreaking defeat to Al Ain to a winner in the very last minute of injury time in the league last week. They are on three points from three games and a win can take them above Emirates in the table.
apassela@thenational.ae
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