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Al Ahli hope to continue their successful march in GCC competition

UAE Etisalat Pro-league teams Al Dhafra and Al Ahli are set to play their second match in the 2011 Club GCC League and Cup Competition on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, while Dubai-based debutant Al Shabab will take on Al Salmiyah of Kuwait at Thamer Stadium in their first match on Tuesday at 7.30pm, UAE time.

The competition includes 12 teams divided into four groups, with matches being played in a round-robin format. Two squads from each group will have the chance to move into the quarterfinals.

Al Shabab's team left for Kuwait yesterday after conducting three successive training sessions at their home ground. They flew to Kuwait with high expectations after beating Al Wahda 3-1 in their Etisalat Cup semifinal match last Thursday, securing themselves a berth in the final against Al Ain. Al Shabab's captain Adil Abdullah and their strong defender Essa Mohammed will not take part in tomorrow's match due to injury.

Al Dhafra will host Saham of Sultanate Oman on Tuesday at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium in the Western Region at 5pm. They will be looking for a win after losing their opening encounter to Al Arabi of Qatar by a solitary goal at Grand Hamad Stadium. Al Dhafra will miss the efforts of Mohammed Al Sayed and Ahmad Abdullah due to suspension following the red cards they received in the match against Al Arabi.

Inspired by their 2-1 victory over Al Arabi of Kuwait at Sabah Stadium, Dubai-based Al Ahli, will host their counterparts Al Ahli of Bahrain on Wednesday, March 16 at Rashid Stadium, kick off 7.15pm. They will be hoping to add three more valuable points to raise their tally to six points, a balance that will help them stay at the top of their Group and continue their successful march in the competition. Italian great Cannavaro will join the home team's line up after recovering from injury, along with their striker Ahmad Khalil and Abdul Aziz Haikal who were on National duty. However their other striker Faisal Khalil, along with defender Mohammed Qasim and midfielder Ahmad Khamis may not participate due to injury.