JEDDAH, 3 January 2007 — For Al-Nasr the question is: to be or not to be — still in the competition.
Fighting to stay alive, the Riyadh-based Nasr club is facing a tough and final chance in the Arab Champions League competition as it hosts Kuwait of Kuwait today in Riyadh in the final first leg quarterfinal match of Group B.
Nasr, in the bottom of the standings with no points, take on a Kuwaiti team who are also in danger of being ousted with only one point to show in third place. The match is described as the battle of the two wounded.
If Nasr are to advance to the semifinals they need to collect 12 points, and they had better start now with three against the Kuwaitis and nine more points in the second leg matches.
Nasr lost to ES Setif of Algeria in Riyadh 2-1 on Dec. 12 and 1-0 against Al-Faisali of Jordan in the same month in Jordan. Kuwait of Kuwait lost the fist leg match against Al-Faisali 1-0 in Kuwait and forced ES Setif to a 0-0 draw in Algeria in front of a large crowd. The Kuwaiti team are also in a tough situation, and a draw at any score will harm both teams.
With a home field advantage, Nasr are expected to play aggressively in a bid to gain the game three points from the visitors. There is one downside for Nasr though. They will start without the first team goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Khojali, who has been stricken off the list by the Nasr coach for not showing up in training on time.
Meanwhile, the round 14 of the Saudi League Football competition will resume after the Haj break with four matches taking place today.
In Dammam, Al-Qadisiya will host Al-Ittihad in a postponed match from round 13. Ittihad are second with 26 points from 12 matches and Qadisiya ninth with 11 points. The first leg match ended 2-1 in favor of Ittihad.
In the second match, Al-Hazem will host Al-Hilal in Al-Rass. It is expected to be an easy ride for Hilal who are on top with 32 points from 13 matches. Al-Hazem are last with seven points. The first round match ended 1-0 in favor of Hilal.
Al-Shabab will host Taie in Riyadh. Shabab will be looking to compensate the points they lost in the previous matches and avenge their big 4-2 defeat by Taie in Hail 4-2 in the first round match. Shabab are fourth with 25 points and Taie seventh with 13 points.
Wehda, meantime, flew to the Eastern Province to face Khaleej.
Wehda with a spectacular performance in the first round are looking forward to collect the game three points to enhance their ambition of gaining a spot in the final four competition this year. Wehda are third with 26 points, equal with Ittihad but in third place because of goal difference. Khaleej are dangerously positioned in the 11th position with mere 9 points.
