Doha: Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic wants major improvements from his side in their return meeting with Qatar’s El Jaish in the AFC Champions League Group D encounter the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium on Wednesday.
In their continental opener at home to the same opponents last week, Dalic (pictured) saw goals from Abderrazzaq Hamedallah and Romarinho condemn his side to a 2-1 defeat despite Douglas’ penalty 25 minutes from time.
And the Croatian coach is likely to be without midfielder Yaser Matar who was withdrawn in the Matchday One meeting and Colombian Danilo Asprilla who is still recovering from a recent injury.
“We are looking to make a good comeback after losing the opening match although this game will be very hard for us. After losing the first meeting, we have tried to fix the mistakes that we made, especially in defence,” said Al Ain coach Dalic, who saw his team qualify for the quarter-finals of the UAE President’s Cup following a 4-0 win over Al Ittihad Kalba on Saturday.
“We also missed many scoring chances in the first match against El Jaish and we should try to work hard and score from any chance that we will create in Wednesday’s game.
“El Jaish will try their best to stop us in the attack and they are also capable of creating chances and causing us problems like they did previously.”
Opponents El Jaish took advantage of Lekhwiya’s heavy 5-0 defeat to Qatar Stars League leaders Al Rayyan to move into second place in the domestic standings with a 1-0 win over Al Wakra on Saturday.
“We played against Al Wakra in the local league and it was a chance to prepare the players for the match against Al Ain,” said El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi.
“We will concentrate hard and hopefully we can get another win to strengthen our position in the group.
“After the opening win, we didn’t celebrate too much because we know that we still have a long road to go.
“The match on Wednesday will not be easy because our opponents will try to avenge their defeat and this will make things harder for us.
Photo: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com