The league table is allowed to rest as Al Khaleej and Al Ain battle for Arabian Gulf Cup honors in this first 1st Round leg of two fixtures.
Both teams should be fairly well rested for this game, as they have had some quiet days to prepare. Hopefully this will translate into lots of action on the pitch.
Al Khaleej form and stats
Khaleej was eliminated in the group stage last season in the Arabian Gulf Cup.Al Khaleej have played three Uae League home games so far, perhaps enough to set expectations for the season. In that case, only 1 point from these matches could be a signal of rough times ahead.
A draw after 90 minutes last time out for Khaleej, who played 2-2 against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai. That match was also played at this venue (Saqr bin Mohammad al Qassimi Stadium). Before that game, the home loss against Al Wahda with the scoreline 1-2.
Khaleej salvaged the draw from a difficult situation against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, trailing 0-2 at one point. Not giving up resulted in Ricardinho equalizing.
Al Khaleej are certainly not overdoing their scoring at home in league matches, having created 3 goals in 3 games. Khaleej have conceded 5 from these games.
Al Ain form and stats
Ain's mission in Arabian Gulf Cup last season failed in the semi-finals.Things could have gone better for Al Ain in their Uae League away matches, but 2 points from 2 games is all right. Visiting Ain has seen their last two away games both end with a tied score and one point each.
Impressive finishing from Fahad Hadeed, K. Laba (2) and T. Shiotani secured the home win 4-1 against Al Dhafra in their previous game. Preceding that game, the 1-1 draw paying a visit to Al Fujairah.
Al Ain have the goal stats of 2-2 (for/against) from 2 business trips in the league at this early stage of the season.
Head 2 Head
Al Khaleej and Al Ain have met before this season: Al Ain - Al Khaleej 2-4. Head-2-head stats last four meetings: two - zero - two (Al Khaleej wins - draws - Al Ain wins). As for goals, three matches ended with three or more goals (over 2,5), one had two or less.Top Goalscorers
  F. Laba 3 goals |   R. Cavalcante Mendes 2 goals | F. Gharib 2 goals |
Al Khaleej missing players
Al Ain missing players
| Al Khaleej | Al Ain | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 13 | Played | P | 11 | 25 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Won | W | 6 | 12 | ||
| 7 | 2 | Drew | D | 3 | 6 | ||
| 13 | 8 | Lost | L | 2 | 7 | ||
| 27 | 15 | Scored | S | 19 | 49 | ||
| 44 | 25 | Conceded | C | 12 | 38 | ||
| 96% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 91% | 96% | ||
| 76% | 85% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 82% | 88% | ||
| 52% | 69% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 55% | 64% | ||
| 36% | 38% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 36% | 40% | ||
| 16% | 8% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 18% | 28% | ||
| 56% | 62% | BTTS | BTTS | 45% | 60% | ||
| 8% | 0% | Clean Sheets | C S | 45% | 32% | ||
| 40% | 38% | Failed to Score | F T | 18% | 12% | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.7 | 1.5 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 2.5 | 2.1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 3 | ||
| 238 | 134 | Total Shots | T S | 118 | 300 | ||
| 95 | 53 | Shots on Target | S O | 45 | 114 | ||
| 28% | 28% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 42% | 43% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Al Sharjah | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 15 |
| 2 | Al Nasr | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
| 3 | Bani Yas | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 4 | Al Wahda | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 5 | Shabab Al Ahli Dubai | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 6 | Al Ain | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | Al Jazira | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 8 | Al Dhafra | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | -3 | 7 |
| 9 | Al Wasl | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | -2 | 6 |
| 10 | Al Ittihad Kalba | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -6 | 6 |
| 11 | Ajman | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -7 | 2 |
| 12 | Al Fujairah | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -7 | 1 |
| 13 | Al Khaleej | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | -9 | 1 |
| 14 | Hatta | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | -14 | 1 |