Al-Arabi seeks its first Zain Premier League win

A file photo of Al Arabi and Jahra players fighting for the ball.

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 29: The second round of the Zain Premier League gets underway today with two matches, as Al-Fahaheel faces a difficult away test against Al-Nasr at Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium at 6:40 pm, followed by Al-Arabi’s clash with Al-Jahra at Thamer Stadium at 8:55 pm.

The round continues tomorrow with an early heavyweight encounter between Al-Qadsia and Kuwait Club, while Al-Sulaibikhat takes on Al-Shabab. The round will conclude the following day with Kazma meeting Al-Sahel and Al-Tadamon facing Al-Salmiya.

Al-Arabi will be determined to claim its first victory of the campaign after opening the season with an entertaining 3-3 draw against Kuwait Club.

The “Green” twice took the lead and looked on course for victory, but Kuwait Club struck a third goal deep into stoppage time to snatch a point.

Coach Goran Sablic will be demanding another strong performance, but this time with all three points. Al-Arabi showed plenty of promise in its opening game and will be confident of beating an Al-Jahra side that recorded only three victories throughout last season.

Al-Arabi has officially parted ways with Brazilian forward Lucas Shallon, while retaining its other five foreign players — Senegalese Joher Rasoul, Brazilians Leonardo Sheldon and Anayo Iwuala, Palestinian Zaid Qanbar and Ethiopian Kenan Malenko.

Al-Jahra, meanwhile, is looking to recover from its 3-2 defeat to Al-Shabab in the opening round.

Coach Ahmed Abdulkarim faces the added challenge of an incomplete foreign-player roster, with all five foreign players missing from the team’s opening match.

Despite the difference in quality and last season’s standings, Al-Jahra has already shown it can trouble Al-Arabi. The “Red Palace” side, which finished bottom of the table last season, held Al-Arabi to a 1-1 draw in May.

Al-Nasr will be aiming to maintain its winning start after defeating Al-Salmiya 2-1 in the opening round.

Coach Dhaher Al-Adwani will be hoping his players can reproduce the same performance and collect another three points to strengthen their position early in the campaign.

Al-Fahaheel, however, arrive with a point to prove after suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat to Al-Qadsia in their opening match. They will be eager to bounce back and return to winning ways.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff