Sharjah will host Shabab Al Ahli at Sharjah Stadium on Saturday in one of the biggest fixtures of Matchweek 8 in the ADNOC Pro League, with just one point separating the two sides in the standings.
Shabab Al Ahli enter the match in second place with 13 points, while Sharjah sit sixth on 12 points. Both teams will be seeking a victory to strengthen their positions in the race for the top spots.
Sharjah will look to capitalise on home advantage, while Shabab Al Ahli aim to continue their impressive record against their opponents and maintain pressure on the league leaders.
The two clubs have met 32 times in the professional league era, with Shabab Al Ahli holding a clear advantage after recording 17 victories, compared with six for Sharjah. The remaining nine encounters ended in draws.
Shabab Al Ahli have scored 47 goals in those matches, while Sharjah have found the net 30 times. Former UAE international Ahmed Khalil is the leading scorer in the fixture's league history, with six goals.
Across all competitions in the professional era, the teams have met 54 times, with Shabab Al Ahli winning 27 matches, Sharjah claiming eight victories and 19 encounters ending level.
Recent results also favour Shabab Al Ahli, who are unbeaten in their last seven league meetings with Sharjah, recording four wins and three draws.
The two previous league encounters between the clubs played in November both ended 1-1 at Sharjah Stadium.
Shabab Al Ahli have also avoided defeat in their last 12 league away matches played during November, winning four and drawing eight since their 2-0 defeat to Al Jazira in 2016.
Meanwhile, Sharjah goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani could reach a significant career milestone. He has kept 99 clean sheets in the professional league and needs one more to reach 100.
According to the supplied statistics, he would become the third goalkeeper to reach that figure after Ali Khaseif, who has 108 clean sheets, and Khalid Eisa, with 104.
The fixture has also produced one of its fastest moments of drama, with Bernard scoring after just 40 seconds in September 2021 at Rashid Stadium.
With both sides competing for valuable points, Sharjah will be determined to end Shabab Al Ahli's unbeaten run in the fixture, while the visitors seek another victory to maintain their challenge near the top.
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