Wihdat face Faisali as Week 19 kicks off Friday

AMMAN — Wihdat have a clear seven-point lead as they head into Week 19 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League which kicks off on Friday.

Wihdat are now closer to retaining their title after they scored two consecutive wins to boost their lead, the last being 3-0 over Baqaa. The team  now lead with 40 points ahead of their much anticipated match against Faisali set for Sunday.

It will be the 76th match between the all-time rivals, with Wihdat winning 27 times and Faisali 26. Wihdat won the Leg 1 match 2-0 in November.

Ramtha still trail in second place as they were held 2-2 by Shabab Urdun. They will next play Baqaa.

Jazira are third after a 0-0 draw with Faisali and they next take on That Ras.

Former Jordan Cup champs That Ras are now fourth after they beat Ittihad Ramtha 1-0. They will now face Jazira in a vital match.

Sarih are fifth after they lost to Manshieh 2-1. They will next go up against former champs Shabab Urdun, who are 11th. Ahli advanced to sixth after they beat Hussein Irbid 1-0. They will next play Manshieh as both hope to advance further up the standings.

Faisali still trail at the lower end of the standings for the first time ever since the League kicked off in 1944. Baqaa, a usual top five finisher, are now 10th while former champs Shabab Urdun have also disappointed fans and are 11th. While Ittihad Ramtha are sure to be relegated, the second team facing relegation is still undecided putting a lot of pressure of teams from 9-11 places.

Ramtha’s Rakan Khalidi, whose injury forced him to miss most of the last League matches, leads the scorers with nine goals while Wihdat’s Mahmoud Zaatara has seven.

Wihdat won the first competition of the 2014/15 season after they beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup. The Jordan Cup semis will now be played after the League ends as Faisali play Wihdat and Ramtha face That Ras in the semis. 

Last season, Wihdat won the League title for the 13th time. They beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup while Shabab Urdun beat That Ras to win the 31st Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.