Kuwait and Kazma Face Sulaybiyah and Al-Jahra

Kuwait SC look to maintain their lead at the top of the Zain Premier League when they face Al-Salmiya at 5:40 PM today at Jaber Al-Ahmad Stadium, in the fifth round, which also sees Kazma take on Al-Jahra at 7:55 PM at the Tamaleh Stadium. Kuwait enter the match with high morale following their “valuable” 3-1 victory over Bahraini side Al-Khaldiya in the second round of the second-tier AFC Champions League, avenging their 2-3 first-round defeat to UAE’s Al-Ittihad Kalba. While Al-Salmiya sit in second-from-bottom place with three points, Kuwait lead the table with 10 points from four matches, recording one draw and three wins, the most recent being a seven-goal thrashing of Al-Nasr in the previous round, which restored the team’s attacking prowess and allowed them to go top after their former rivals Kazma drew 1-1 with Al-Arabi in that same round. That draw appears to have affected Kazma, who dropped to third place with eight points, before suffering a defeat in the Gulf Club Champions Cup against Saudi side Al-Ettifaq 0-2 in the first round of Group 3. The Orange aim to bounce back when they face eighth-placed Al-Jahra, who have four points and come from a 1-1 draw with Al-Salmiya in the previous round. Kazma are aware that Al-Jahra will not be an easy opponent, particularly as they beat Al-Arabi 2-1, narrowly lost to Kuwait 0-1, and were defeated 2-3 by Al-Shabab.