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Al Ahli and Al Shabab host Kazma and Al Arabi in GCC Clubs Semifinal

Both UAE Dubai-based football teams Al Ahli and Al Shabab are set to host their Kuwaiti sides Kazma and Al Arabi on Tuesday and Wednesday this week at Rashid and Maktoum Bin Rashid Stadiums at 7:45pm and 7:30pm respectively in the 26th GCC Clubs Champions league and President's Cup semifinal matches.

Al Ahli will face Kazma in their away game on October 18th while Al Shabab are to battle it out in the second leg match against hosts Al Arabi on the same date. Finishing the game with a difference of goals will help the winners to play their next tie with great self-confidence.

In spite of Al Ahli's poor start and unconvincing results in their first two matches in Etisalat Cup after a loss and a draw, but their fans hope their team will show different performance in the GCC competition. The team will play without their Brazilian star Graffiti due to injury in their last game against Sharjah. Their midfielder Amer Mubarak may also be absent for the same reason. 

Al Ahli's coach Ivan Hasek is expected to start the game with Obaid Al Taweela as goalkeeper, Abdul Aziz Haikal, Yousuf Mohammad, Mohammad Qasim and Badr Abdul Rahman in defense line, Tariq Ahmed, Ismail Al Hammadi, Jaja and Ahmed Khamis in the midfield , Ahmed Khalil  and Luis Jimenez will lead the offensive line. Al Ahli qualified to the golden square after beating Al Dhafra 3-1 in the quarterfinals stage.

The Kuwaiti side Kazma are led by their Czech coach Milan Macala who is well known in the Gulf States, as he coached before many GCC clubs and national teams. His team's line up in this game may include : Shihab Kankoni as custodian, Mohammad AL Hadhood, Nasser Waheeb, Abdo Gameya, Sultan Salbukh in defense line , Aazocam, Talal Al Fadil, Fahad Al-Fahad, Ismail Al Ajmi for the midfield zone, Nasser Yousuf and  Arshobi will spearhead the attacking line. The team will face the hosts without their first choice star Fahd Al Anzi who transferred to Saudi Club Al Ittihad. Kazma finished the preliminary stage on top of group 4 after beating Zafar of Sultanate of Oman 2-1 and 1-0 in their home and away games. They also defeated Al Khiratat of Qatar twice with a solitary goal before knocking out Al Riffa of Bahrain 4-3 in penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw. They held a short warm up camp in Al Ain in the last few days.

On the other hand Al Shabab will meet Al Arabi of Kuwait on Wednesday at their home ground. They demonstrated brilliant display in the Etisalat Cup that helped them to stay on top of the ladder in Group "B" after overcoming Bani Yas 4-1 and their city rivals Al Nasr 2-0. Their lineup may consist of goalkeeper Ismail Rabei, Abdullah Darweesh, Walid Abbas, Essam Dhahi and Sami Anbar in defense, Adil Abdullah, Haydarov, Essa Obaid and Villanueva in the midfield, Julio Cesar and Ciao in  the attacking line while Al Arabi's coach may field Khalid Al Rashidi as goalie, Ali Maqseed , Mohammad Al Najmi, Ahmed Al Rasheedi, Mohammad Freeh as defenders, Talal Nayef, Aziz Al Silaimi, Tariq al-Shammari and Mohammed Jarragh in the midfield, Mohammed Zabeih and Khalid Khalaf in the front line.