Tonight, the 22nd round of the First Division football league kicks off, appearing as one of the most important rounds under the slogan 'Dropping points is forbidden', amid intensifying competition for promotion spots, along with the fierce fight to avoid relegation. Masfoot hosts Fujairah at 17:45, while United faces Al-Dhaba Al-Hasan at 17:50 in the highlight match of the round, which will be held at Dubai City Sports Stadium. The round's matches will be completed tomorrow, as Arabia faces Majd, Gulf United faces Hatta, Al-Arabi faces Al-Jazira Al-Hamra, Al-Hamra faces Al-Zayed, and Ittihad faces City. United leads the league table with 43 points, ahead of Al-Zayed in second place with 37 points, followed by Al-Dhaba Al-Hasan in third with 36 points, and Al-Arabi in fourth with 35 points. They are followed by Hatta and Arabia, each with 34 points, then Fujairah with 33 points, Emirates with 32 points, City with 22 points, Gulf United with 21 points, Al-Hamra with 19 points, Al-Jazira Al-Hamra and Masfout each with 17 points, then Majd with 14 points, and finally Ittihad with 10 points. All matches of the round are highly significant, as United and Al-Dhaba Al-Hasan aim to win their direct encounter to boost their chances in the promotion race, while Al-Zayed looks to return with full points from Al-Hamra's stadium to maintain its second-place position and perhaps get closer to the top. Meanwhile, Al-Arabi, Hatta, and Arabia are searching for valuable wins against Al-Jazira Al-Hamra, Gulf United, and Majd, while the competing teams hold on to hopes of avoiding relegation as the season approaches its decisive stages. The focus is on the match between United and Al-Dhaba Al-Hasan, which can be described as the season's peak, especially as it pits the leader against the third-placed team, in addition to the impressive technical presence of the coaches, with Italian manager Andrea Pirlo leading United, while Portuguese manager Bruno Pereira leads Al-Dhaba Al-Hasan. United hopes a win will bring it much closer to a historic promotion to the Premier League, while Al-Dhaba Al-Hasan knows that returning with three points will keep it firmly in the competition and reshuffle the top cards again. United has a psychological advantage after maintaining the lead for several rounds under Pirlo, but Al-Dhaba Al-Hasn previously beat them in the first round, adding more excitement and rivalry to the match. Today, the 21st round of the Premier League football competition begins, featuring three important matches amid a fierce battle for various positions in the table, starting from the top, through the positions qualifying for external competitions, down to the relegation fight, in which eight clubs are competing together for the first time in the competition's history. Al-Ahli Youth — Al-Jazira Al-Ahli Youth seeks to avenge itself against Al-Jazira, which knocked it out of the President's Cup semi-final last month with a 1-0 victory, alongside reclaiming the league's top spot, when the two teams meet tonight at 20:30 on Rashid Stadium. 'Dubai's Knights' are in second place with 49 points, one point behind the leader Al Ain (50 points), giving them a chance to temporarily take the top spot in case of a win, pending the result of the 'Leader's' match against Al Ajman on Sunday. In return, Al-Jazira enters the match with high morale after qualifying for the Cup final and is in third place with 37 points, and it realizes that a win represents the best option to maintain its position among the teams qualifying for external competitions after a long absence. Al-Ahli Youth will be without the services of its player Nemanja Maksimović due to suspension, following his ejection during the Cup match for protesting the referee, which led to the penalty being carried over to the league after the team's exit from the competition. In return, Al-Jazira will not be affected by Mohamed Rabea's yellow card, as his suspension will be applied in the Cup final against Al Ain. Al-Sadd — Al-Wahda Al-Sadd hosts Al-Wahda tonight at 17:50 on Al-Maktoum Stadium, in a match that carries the character of restoring balance for both teams. 'The Dean' enters the match in sixth place with 27 points, having moved slightly away from the danger zone, and looks to regain its form and re-enter the race for the spots qualifying for external competitions, or at least compete for a spot in the Gulf Champions League. In return, 'The Yellows' enter the match in fourth place with 34 points, but they suffer from result instability after two consecutive losses to Bani Yas and Al Ain, which pushed them out of the title race and directed their focus towards maintaining a position that qualifies them for external competitions. Al-Bataih — Al-Qabb Al-Bataih hosts Al-Qabb tonight at 17:50 on Khalid bin Mohammed Stadium in a direct confrontation in the bottom struggle, amid a tight competition among eight clubs to escape relegation. 'The Referees' enter the match in the second-to-last position with 17 points, collected from four wins and five draws against 11 defeats, and has failed to achieve two consecutive wins at home this season, but it has an opportunity to enhance its results after its win in the previous round over Al Ajman 1-0. Al-Qabb occupies tenth place with 21 points and realizes that the slim difference does not give it security, and it will be required to double its efforts to harvest the three points, and the team suffers from a lack of attacking effectiveness, as it is the least accurate in shooting on goal at 38%, and it will also be without the services of its player Sékou Gassama due to suspension.
