Premier League action resumes tonight
Malkiya and Al Najma will both search for their first points of the season when they face off tonight as the second matchweek of the 2026-27 Nasser bin Hamad Premier League gets underway.
The two sides meet at Al Ahli Club Stadium at 7pm, while East Riffa takes on Sitra simultaneously at the National Stadium.
Malkiya heads into their encounter looking to recover from a 3-0 opening-day defeat to Sitra, with Portuguese coach Alvaro Jose Rodrigues hoping for a response from his side.
The final scoreline did not fully reflect how long the contest remained in the balance; all three goals arrived in first or second-half stoppage time.
Skipper Ali Haram broke the deadlock just before the interval after reacting quickest to the rebound when his penalty struck the post.
The one-goal margin remained until the closing stages, when Haram turned provider for Ali AlAsfoor, who controlled the captain's chest-down before finding the net.
Malkiya's Hadi Ghazi was then shown a second yellow card after conceding another penalty, allowing Ali Nasser to convert from the spot with virtually the last kick and complete the 3-0 scoreline.
Al Najma will also look to bounce back under Tunisian coach Fethi Laabidi after suffering a 7-2 defeat to Al Khaldiya.
Having retained their top-flight place through the promotion/relegation play-offs last season, Najma endured a torrid opening half as Khaldiya struck five times before the interval.
Walid Sabbar opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 13th minute before Ousman AlHajj struck twice, with Gleison Moreira and captain Mehdi Humaidan adding two more in first-half stoppage time.
Najma pulled one back through a Mohammed Adel own goal six minutes after the restart, only for Nizar El Otmani to restore Khaldiya's five-goal cushion in the 62nd minute.
Rickson Conceicao reduced the deficit to 6-2 in the 80th before Najma captain Ammar saved Saifeddine Bouhra's stoppage-time penalty, but El Otmani broke clear shortly afterwards to complete his brace and the 7-2 rout.
Tonight's other encounter sees Sitra looking to make it two wins from two when they take on newly promoted East Riffa.
Bahraini coach Hassan Sayed Isa will hope his side can carry their opening-day momentum into the contest, while East Riffa will aim to get off the mark under Hisham Al Mahoozi following a 2-0 loss to Hidd.
Algerian professionals Oussama Bellatreche and Samy Frioui scored either side of half-time to condemn the promoted side to defeat on their top-flight return.
Matchweek two continues on Friday, when Al Khaldiya faces A'ali at the National Stadium, while reigning champions Muharraq take on Al Ettifaq at Al Ahli Club Stadium.
The round concludes on Saturday, with Hidd facing Al Ahli at the National Stadium and Manama taking on Riffa at Al Ahli Club Stadium.
All four Friday and Saturday fixtures kick off at 7pm.
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