ACL MD4 - Group D: Al Ahli v Al Ain preview

Published on: 04 April 2016

Jeddah: Christian Gross has called on his Al Ahli players to notch up a confidence boosting win as the Jeddah-based club take on inaugural winners Al Ain in their crucial 2016 AFC Champions League Group D meeting on Tuesday.

Both sides have only recorded one win in their opening three games in the current campaign and sit level on three points with Uzbekistan’s Nasaf, six points adrift of leaders El Jaish from Qatar.

With El Jaish on the verge of advancing to the Round of 16 – a win over Nasaf will book their ticket for the knockout phase – neither Al Ahli nor Al Ain can afford to lose in what is turning into a battle for second place. 

“This month is very important for us because we have difficult matches and we must win those matches,” said former Tottenham Hotspur manager Gross (pictured), whose side handed local rivals Al Ittihad a 4-2 defeat on Saturday.

“Winning will give us a big boost in our aim to win titles whether locally or in the AFC Champions League.

“The match against Al Ain will be very important for the two sides. We will be playing against an ambitious team but at the same time we will be playing at home and in front of our fans and we should get the three points.”

Al Ain’s Omar Abdulrahman scored the only goal with a fine free kick when the teams met on Matchday Three and the side from the United Arab Emirates, who won the inaugural AFC Champions League in 2003 and reached the final again two years later, have not played in the domestic league since early March, when they recorded a 4-2 win over Bani Yas.

Recent Brazilian signing Douglas has struggled in front of goal for Al Ain in the AFC Champions League, but scored twice in that win while fellow forward Mohammad Abdulrahman was also on target.

“We respect our opponents. They are a good side and have several excellent players which means that the match will not be easy for us,” said Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic. “However, we will go into the match looking to repeat the win that we achieved in the UAE.

“Al Ahli will go into the match in good spirits after winning the local derby against Al Ittihad and they are currently the leaders. But we have to win if we want to remain in contention and qualify from the group.”

Photo: AFP

Source: the-afc.com

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