JEDDAH: Al-Ahli seeks its second straight victory against Al-Najma of Bahrain while Al-Nasr hopes to bounce back from an opening day loss when it faces Bahrain’s Al-Muharraq today in the 24th Gulf Clubs Championship.
Ahli will be looking to duplicate its 1-0 victory over Al-Salmiah of Kuwait when it entertains the Bahraini side at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.
In Doha, Nasr is expected to make amends from its disappointing 1-0 defeat by Kuwait’s Al-Qadisia.
Group A matches in the preliminary round of the tournament are being played in Doha with Group B games in Jeddah.
With six new players on its lineup, Ahli is favored against Najma which enters the field still smarting from a defeat by Dhofar of Oman on Saturday.
Ahli has requested the tournament organizing committee to move its scheduled 6 p.m. match to 9 p.m., citing the kickoff time is inconvenient for the fans.
The committee has yet to decide on Ahli’s request.
After losing its first match, Nasr is hungry for a comeback tonight but Muharraq, armed with three points from its first match, is tipped to give the Riyadh-based booters a run for their money.
Expectations from fans of Nasr winning more than one trophy are high this season as their team led the Saudi teams in the number of new signings.
Al-Salimah and Dhofar clash in the second match of Group B as round one heats up between teams trying to secure a spot in the next round.
