The Fishermen lost miracle-making coach Theo Bucker to Emirates Club, changed their entire foreign quartet and saw several key Emiratis defect to other Arabian Gulf League-outfits. But new coach Paulo Sergio heads to the champions with a solid two points gained from the opening trio of fixtures.

“In Dibba Al Fujairah, we will face a tough team,” said Olaroiu, whose side won The Emirati-Moroccan Super Cup last Sunday.

“I did not expect to watch them at this level. It is difficult to score past them, and this shows their power.”

Meanwhile, under-fire boss Pablo Repetto has demanded Bani Yas kickstart their season with victory against promoted Hatta.

The Uruguayan has gained one point from his opening three top-flight fixtures after a summer move from 2016 Copa Liberatodores finalists Independiente del Valle.

“To win is the most important solution to emerge from a series of previous negative results, which  have hindered the march of the team in the league,” the highly-rated 42-year-old said.