Al Wasl boss Gabriel Calderon is backing the brilliant Brazilian Fabio De Lima to fire the depleted Cheetahs to a strategic victory against top-four rivals Al Shabab on Friday.
A strong first half of the Arabian Gulf League season concludes with a chance for Wasl to cement their spot in the Asian qualifying places.
But they will have to do this without the suspended trio of striker Edgar Bruno, centre-back Yasser Salem and full-back Abdulla Saleh.
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Their hopes of success will be pinned on electric forward Fabio, who sits on seven goals in 11 top-flight matches during an excellent second campaign in Dubai.
“Fabio arrived last year like me, and the team was not playing good,” Calderon said.
“Fabio is one of the players who we changed his position from being purely a striker.
“We have worked with him on a different position. He has improved and every time he is better.
“For me, I am very happy. All teams and coaches like players at his level – he makes the difference.”
The fixture at Zabeel Stadium pits fourth versus fifth.
Shabab managed to secure a play-off berth for the AFC Champions League last term, yet a less-consistent 2015-16 continued with last weekend’s shock 2-1 home loss against lowly Al Dhafra.
Boss Caio Junior urged his team to gain the victory which would provide a springboard for the second half of the season.
He said: “It will be a tough match the whole time. They have a very good team, and the coach is very
respectable.
“It has become impossible to end the first round in third place. But if we beat Wasl, we will reach 22 points and finish the first round in fourth.
“This is not bad, and the second round will remain ahead of us to achieve our goal.”
Veteran full-back Hassan Ameen wanted Wasl to maintain their momentum.
He said: “I expect the match to be tough for both teams. We want to win and need the win.
“The motivation is to get one of the top-three places.”
