Dubai giants Ahli and Shabab ready to lock horns in Arabian Gulf Cup final

Dubai - Al Ahli defender Salmin Khamis emphasised on the importance of delivering a good performance

Al Ahli and Al Shabab will clash for the first major honour of the season on Saturday. The two Dubai clubs will lock horns in the final of the Arabian Gulf Cup at Al Maktoum Stadium on Saturday.
Al Ahli defender Salmin Khamis emphasised on the importance of delivering a good performance against Al Shabab in the final, highlighting the need for his team to put all efforts to beat their great rival and lift the trophy.
Khamis is aware of what the trophy means to The Red Knights fans. "We are working to please our fans by beating Al Shabab and winning the title. The fans have been behind us all season, supporting us in all games and we have to pay them back; we want to win this big competition and we will give our best to meet our fans' expectations," Khamis told reprters on the eve of the final.
Discussing his side's title credentials, Khamis explained: "Every competition we play in, our ambition is to win to be number one. All we think about is to lift the trophy, we fully believe in our chances to win, but we must respect our opponents and play with focus to reach our objective."
Meanwhile, Al Shabab defender Manei Mohamed said his side are a step away from being crowned Arabian Gulf Cup champions. He believes Al Shabab and their final opponents Al Ahli have an equal chance of lifting the trophy, stressing that when the two sides meet on Saturday, all technical and financial margins will make way for hard work and concentration throughout the 90 minutes.
Mohamed is adamant his team does not lack the ambition to win the title, revealing that all players are eager to show their ability to rival the big teams by lifting this trophy. He called on Al Shabab fans to turn out at Al Maktoum Stadium and support the team in front of what he described as "a strong opponent that is also eyeing the trophy". The full-back spoke of his respect to Al Ahli. 
"They are a special team with top quality players," said Mohamed, who went on to emphasise his team's ability to win the match. "Cup matches are all about performance inside the pitch. We worked hard to get to the final and we must continue working hard to become champions," he added. 
In the past 10 clashes between Al Ahli and Al Shabab in the Arabian Gulf Cup, Al Ahli emerged victorious four times, Al Shabab won on three occasions while there were three draws. Al Ahli's biggest cup win over Al Shabab came in the 2011-12 final, when they recorded a 5-3 win.
The best result in Al Shabab's favour came in the group stage of the 2010-11 season.
In their 10 Arabian Gulf Cup encounters, Al Ahli scored 17 times against Al Shabab while the latter responded with 14 goals.
Al Ahli players were booked 25 times while Al Shabab conceded 32 yellow cards.
Al Shabab's Mahmoud Qassem is the most booked player in this fixture (5 yellow cards), followed by Al Ahli's Majed Hassan (4 yellow cards).
Mahmoud Qassem is also the only Al Shabab player to be sent-off against Al Ahli, while Abdulaziz Haikal received the only red card for Al Ahli. The record for most appearances in Al Ahli vs Al Shabab cup matches belongs to Al Shabab player Dawoud who featured nine times, one more than Al Ahli's Salmin Khamis.
Al Ahli's former striker Grafite is the top goalscorer in this fixture with three goals, followed by Al Shabab's Luvannor Henrique who scored twice.