McIlroy, winner in 2009 and 2015, moved up three places on the overnight leaderboard after shooting a three-under-par of 69 on at the Majlis Course to trail South Africa's Harding by two strokes going into the final round

The Northern Irishman's total was the joint second-lowest round of the day - only Shane Lowry, tied for 23rd, managed better with 68 - and included an eagle three on the 10th hole as the players had to contend with hard, fast-running greens, and the 32-year-old was satisfied with his day's work.

• Dubai Desert Classic: Latest scores
• When is the DP World Tour on Sky Sports?

"I think it was a fair reflection of how I played," McIlroy, who sits on 10 under par, said. "There were a couple of good things and a couple of bad things in there, but I feel like it all evened out by the end.

"It was nice to birdie the last, shoot something in the 60s and play myself into the last group tomorrow.

"[It was tough because] The pins are tucked away and then the green firmness. I think as well, this late in the day, it starts to get hard to hole putts on the greens because they're a little crusty and got progressively faster as the day went on.

"So, I started to putt a little more defensively on the back nine. All of that leads to a pretty challenging day."

Also in contention is Tommy Fleetwood, who vaulted up seven places to third going into day four on the back of carding a 69 as well. The Englishman is in a three-way tie for third on nine under with compatriot Richard Bland and South Africa's Erik van Rooyen.

A further shot back, tied for fifth, are a four-man group of Tyrrell Hatton, reigning champion Paul Casey, Adrian Meronk and Bernd Wiesberger, setting up an enthralling final round in Dubai with plenty of players in contention.

Leader Harding, who is aiming for his first Rolex Series event win and third DP World Tour title, shot a one-under round of 71 to maintain his place at the top of the standings at 12 under par overall and is feeling relaxed even with the big names snapping at his heels.

"I'm quite happy," Harding said. "I thought I played quite solid because it was a difficult day, to be fair.

"There were some tough flags to get at and times where I didn't quite put the ball in play and couldn't really go anywhere near them. But, at the end of the day, I was happy with the day's work.

"I've just got to go out and keep doing what I'm doing. If I can make a couple more birdies and shoot 70 or 69, somehow, and make them shoot five or six under par on a Sunday then credit to them. It's just another day at the office, to be fair."

Victory for McIlroy would see him become only the second player to win this tournament three times, joining South African great Ernie Els and he is determined not to slip up after coming so close to achieving that feat four years ago.

"I'm excited," McIlroy said. "I had a really good chance back in 2018 and sort of let it slip through my fingers there when [Li] Haotong won, so it's nice to be able to give myself another opportunity."