Wihdat, Faisali play on weekend

AMMAN — The all awaited Wihdat-Faisali match is among the highlights for this week’s matches as Week 8 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League starts on Thursday.

The league was on break for the past 10 days allowing the national team to play two friendlies in which they lost by 1-0 to both South Korea and Estonia as the squad prepares for the 2015 Asian Cup.

Fans of both teams anticipate much excitement as it will be the 76th encounter between the teams. Wihdat has won 27, Faisali 26 and they tied in 22 matches. One match, won by Wihdat, was later taken off the records when the league was discontinued in 1998. Wihdat have scored 73 goals and Faisali 69.

Saturday’s match will be a chance for Wihdat to further boost their lead after they beat Baqaa 1-0. Faisali are fourth after a 1-0 win over third-placed Jazira.

Ramtha lost their shared lead with Wihdat after they were held 1-1 by former champs Shabab Urdun. They will play Baqaa who have dropped to tenth. 

Hussein are up to sixth place after a 2-0 win over Ahli. They will play Ittihad Ramtha, who are last after a 1-0 defeat to That Ras. Sarih are up to 7th spot after a 2-1 win over Manshieh. They will play Shabab Urdun who have been dropping in the standings.

Wihdat’s Mahmoud Zaatara and Ramtha’s Rakan Khalidi top the scorers list with five goals each.

Wihdat won the first major competition of the 2014/15 football season after they beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup.

Last season, Wihdat won the Jordan Professional League for the 13th time, and beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup while Shabab Urdun beat That Ras to win the Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.