The excitement returns to the ADNOC Pro League as Khorfakkan host Shabab Al Ahli on Thursday at Saqr Bin Mohammed al Qasimi Stadium in Matchweek 8, a fixture long defined by the Knights’ commanding historical record, backed by striking attacking and defensive numbers.
Khorfakkan enter the round sitting 10th on 8 points, while Shabab Al Ahli occupy third place with 14 points.
Statistics underline Shabab Al Ahli’s clear superiority in this matchup: they have won 10 of the 12 previous league meetings, with only two draws. Khorfakkan are one of just six teams to have never beaten Shabab Al Ahli in the Pro League, alongside Kalba, Hatta, Al Orooba, Al Bataeh, and Dibba Al Hisn.
Even so, Khorfakkan maintain a unique trait at home: none of their last 40 home league matches have ended goalless. Those games have produced a remarkable 138 goals, an average of 3.5 per match, with Khorfakkan scoring 65 and conceding 73, reflecting the open, attack-minded nature of their home fixtures.
In head-to-head terms, Shabab Al Ahli are the second-most successful team against Khorfakkan in league history with 10 wins, trailing only Al Ain, who have beaten Khorfakkan 11 times.
Despite that dominant history, Shabab Al Ahli arrive with questions in attack. They have scored just six league goals this season despite leading the division in attempts with 104 shots. This contrasts sharply with last season, when they had already netted 20 times in the first seven rounds.
Defensively, however, the picture is brighter. Shabab Al Ahli have lost just once in their last 17 away league games (W10, D6), the only defeat coming against Al Wasl in a 2–1 result last May.
They have also kept three consecutive away clean sheets, a run topped only once in their history, a four-match streak between January and March 2017.
As for the all-time scorers in this fixture,Mu'nas Dabbur and Yousif Jaber share top spot with three goals each, while Yuri Cesar and Federico Cartabia have both scored twice.
Across all the ADNOC Pro League meetings between the two sides, Shabab Al Ahli have netted 31 goals to Khorfakkan’s 12, a statistic that encapsulates the technical gap that has shaped this fixture through the years.
Send feedback
