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Gulf News - Al Ahli, the top team in the first division football league table, face a tough task tomorrow when they meet arch rivals Al Nasr, the second team in the standing.

The match is the old Dubai local derby. From the late 1960s and even before the establishment of the UAE FA, the two clubs have been competing to win the trophies and titles in Dubai.

The two clubs have won 19 major titles (league, President's Cup, Super Cup and FA Cup) since the formation of the UAE FA in 1972. Al Ahli won the league title thrice and the same goes for Al Nasr. At the same time Al Ahli won the President's Cup five times and Al Nasr thrice; Al Nasr also won the FA Cup four times and the Super Cup once.

Their league match tomorrow at the Al Ahli Club will be very tough due to their position in the table and the excellent start for both in the league this season. Al Ahli, after their exit from the Asian Champions League, won all the league games they have played in the last weeks.

They won valuable points away from home by defeating top contenders Al Ain and Jazira. Al Ahli settled for the Iranian Jawad Qazimyan as the second foreign striker to play along with the gifted Ali Karimi, who is playing the second successive season with Al Ahli.

Karimi led Al Ahli to become the strongest forward line scoring 29 goals in nine matches while conceding 16 goals. Al Ahli, under the Croatian coach Juricic Srecko, who joined the team last season and led them to win the President's Cup for the fifth time, is showing its best form. The young players Salim Khamis, Hasan Ali Ibrahim, Adil Abdul Aziz, Jasim Akbar, Mohammed Qassim, Hasan Ali Abbas, Khalid Shah Dad, Mohammed Hamada, Ahmed Shah, have gained more experience and are ready to win titles. Al Ahli for the last time won the league 22 years ago.

Al Nasr, under the French coach Rene Exbrayat, who began with the team in the current season, showed tremendous standard, which is their best in recent years. Al Nasr will be looking to win tomorrow's match against Al Ahli to top the standing and compensate for the loss of nine points, in the form of three drawn encounters and and losing one match.

Al Nasr, like Al Ahli, will also be looking to clinch the league title after a 16 year's absence. The last time Al Nasr won the league title was in 1986.

Al Nasr's encounters tomorrow and next week's crucial match against Al Ain will be a real test for the French coach and his players, if they want to prove they are capable of winning the league title. They should beat Al Ahli and Al Ain and win the six points to finish the first round on top of the table.

Al Nasr have the strongest defence line. They conceded seven goals in nine matches and their front liners scored 20 goals. Al Nasr's goalkeeper Mubarak Yaqoot is playing his best season with the team and his defenders Mohammed Khamis, brothers Abdullah and Mohammed Rabie and Khamis Salim are rock solid at the backline.

The midfield is led by Moroccan Hisham Zarwali along with brothers Salah and Ali Abbas and Qazim Ali. French striker Semba and Walid Murad spearhead the frontline. Semba is the second top goalscorer in the league with eight goals in nine matches.

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