Ahli hosts Al-Nasr in Friday's first-leg final of the GCC Champions League at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. The match begins at 7:35 P.M. Despite of the domination of the Saudi clubs in the championship history, this is the first time two Saudi sides are clashing in the final. Saudi teams have won the title 12 times with Al-Ittifaq winning it three times while Al-Nasr, Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal have lifted the trophy twice each. Al-Ittihad has won it once. The restructured championship in its third version witnessed several actions last month when FIFA suspended Kuwait, which had two teams in the semifinals. Kuwaiti sides Al-Qadissiyah and Al-Salimyah were scheduled to play their second-leg match on Oct. 25 but the organizing committee canceled it after Kuwait's suspension. The move put Ahli and Nasr in the final despite objections raised by Bahraini and Omani teams, which demanded that a fresh draw be made. The finalists will be aiming to secure the first-leg clash before they meet again in the second-leg tie in Riyadh on Dec. 3. A look at the two teams' performance in the local league shows that they are at par with each other and the team that plays better on the night should come out the winner. Host Al-Ahli reached the final after topping Group B with seven points - two wins and a draw. Al-Ahli players scored five goals during the group stages. Ranked fifth in the Saudi League, Al-Ahli will definitely try to change its image in front of its home fans. Al-Ahli club gave its players a boost after buying all the match tickets to distribute for free among soccer fans. Striker Malek Al-Hawsawi will lead Al-Ahli in the match after he recovered from a leg injury that kept him away for almost a month. Hassan Al-Raheb, Taiser Al-Jassem and Waleed Al-Jahdali are also ready to participate in the match. Al-Nasr on the other hand finishing second in Group A with seven points. The Riyadh side will be seeking an additional point in the away match Friday. International striker Saad Al-Harthi and Mohammed Al-Shahrani are expected to miss the clash as they picked up injuries few days before the match. Young stiker Rayan Bilal is expected to play alone in the front if Al-Shahrani fails to start. Al-Nasr will also be counting on its Brazilian midfielder Jose Alton, who has put on great performances for the team in the Saudi League matches. __
