The top two will meet at a packed Rashid Stadium for a pivotal fixture in the 2015/16 title race. Defeat for the 12-time champions will open up a six-point gap to their bitter rivals with only three fixtures left, while a win will put them top because of a superior head-to-head record.
Speaking before the encounter, Croatian coach Dalic declared the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“Everyone is waiting for this match,” the 46-year-old said. “We are playing this match as if we have only one option – we have to win if we want to keep the title.
“That’s why I’ve told the players that this is a very important match and that we have to win. The three points are important and I believe the team who wins the match will most likely win the title.”
This heated clash has caused a deep divide during recent years. Suspended prison sentences followed coach Cosmin Olaroiu’s rancorous defection to Dubai in 2013, a victory for the Boss in the 2014 President’s Cup final denied their opponents a historic quadruple while a crushing turnaround in the round-of-16 stage for Ahli in the Garden City helped propel them all the way to the 2015 AFC Champions League final.
Ahli are the club on the rise this time, winning their past six league matches. The Boss have been less consistent, an 83rd-minute goal from Ibrahim Diaky versus 10-man Al Nasr last Sunday earning a barely-deserved 1-1 draw.
No matter the outcome, Olaroiu – who won both top-flight titles and the 2012 Arabian Gulf Super Cup while at Al Ain from 2011-13 – insisted further twists lay ahead.
He said: “Even if we win, nothing is finished. We have other difficult games still to come (against Nasr, Bani Yas and Al Shaab), and if somebody knows that they will give us the trophy after this game then this would be very good but of course this is not the case.
“Everyone knows Al Ain is a very strong team and we expect it to be the most beautiful game.”
Familiar faces will be found across the pitch. The UAE squad, which progressed to the third round of World Cup 2018 qualifying last month, contained 17 players – nine for Ahli and eight for Al Ain – who could feature in the match.
The midfield will be hotly contested, with the influence of Omar Abdulrahman likely to be combated by two from three international colleagues – Khamis Esmail, Majed Hassan and Habib Fardan.
“In the national team, he is our friend,” said Fardan of ‘Amoory’. “But in the field, everyone will defend his club and want to win.”
