Current Qatar Stars league (QSL) leaders Lekhwiya will seek to cement their palce at the top when they take on defending champions Al Rayyan in the Round 20 clash at Al Sadd Stadium on Friday
The clash between the two title chasing sides promises to be an interesting affair and a lot to offer.
Both sides have enjoyed undefeated starts to 2017 so far, and will have something offer as two of the leading sides in the QSL take on each other.
For the home side Al Rayyan, they have won all six games of 2017 so far, and have consolidated third place in the QSL standings. Michael Laudrup’s side have improved significantly in defence during the new year, conceding only three goals in that period. The Lions are currently nine points behind Lekhwiya and know that a win could pile the pressure onto Djamel Belmadi’s side.
Laudrup is no stranger to the Lekhiwya set-up having led the side to a league and cup double during the 2014/2015 QSL season. One player who aided him during this time was Qatar international striker Sebastian Soria who is now at Al Rayyan and could be a key player in this match. Soria has rediscovered his goal-scoring touch in recent weeks, registering two goals in his last three outings. The veteran attacker will have to be at his very best if Al Rayyan are to defeat the champions elect in Lekhwiya.
As for Lekhwiya they have yet to taste defeat this league season, and are now only nine rounds away from going the whole season undefeated. Last time out they bulldozed though Al Khor with a 6-0 victory, which expressed their title credentials loud and clear.
One of the characteristics of this Lekhwiya side is their unrelenting will to win, and this mentality has been provided by coach Belmadi. In recent weeks Lekhwiya have been missing a host of key players through injury, suspension and AFCON and now it seems that players are coming back at the right time for the Red Knights.
The sides leading scorer Yusef El Arabi made an immediate impact for his side on his first match representing Morocco in the AFCON. The former Granada striker notched a hat-trick in the 6-0 win over Al Khor, which took his tally to 20 goals in just 13 QSL games. Belmadi will certainly be expecting the Moroccan hit-man to be amongst the goals against Al Rayyan on Friday, with a victory over their rivals all but assuring that the title is heading back to Lekhiwya for a fifth time in the clubs history.
