Al Ahli’s Qatari coach Yusef Adam addressing a press conference on the eve of the QSL match yesterday.
Title chasing El Jaish having dropped off the title pace in recent weeks will be hoping to get back to winning ways following a frustrating 0-0 draw with relegation threatened Al Wakrah in the Round 15 match of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) today against Al Arabi..
Al Arabi will be looking to register their first three points of 2017, after narrowly losing to Al Sailiyah 1-0 in round 14.
The Dream Team struggled at the start of the season, but have slowly improved under Brazilian Edison Aguirre.
Arabi are currently ten points away from the top four spaces and will be targeting a winning run to pull themselves up the table.
Jaish have a number of key players out through injury, including Seidou Keita and midfielder Majid Mohammed. Leading scorer Romarinho will have to find his goal scoring touch again if Jaish have a chance to come away from the tie with all three points.
El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi stressed that his side would face a challenge in Al Arabi.
“It’s always difficult to play against Al Arabi, one of the biggest teams in Qatar. Our last game against Al Wakrah was a bad result. We must win to keep pressure on the leaders, the team have been putting in good performances lately and we need more of the same against Al Arabi.
“My focus is only on the games in January right now. My teams performance is important to me and i won’t be looking for the results of the teams above me for now” added Lamouchi when asked if he was looking for his rivals results.
Concluding the press conference, Lamouchi admitted that his side are looking at player to improve his squad in January. “I am trying to get players fit all the time to improve my squad. If a player from another side came up, of course we would be interested providing everything was right to make a deal.”
Whilst for Al Arabi, they will be targeting a clean sheet against one of the fiercest attacks in the QSL. Arabi keeper Rajab Hamza will have to be at his commanding best if Aggurie’s team is to cause an upset.
Al Arabi will be targeting their first win of the new year when they take on title chasing El Jaish. Dream Team boss Agguire spoke to the media ahead of the game.
“Expectations will be high for both teams. We are looking to find a balance for our side, we played well against Sailiya but didn't get the result we needed. Against Jaish we need to create and convert the chances we make and hopefully we can get a result that we need” noted the Brazilian coach on the Monday morning press conference.
Aguire also gave an update on the fitness of his squad heading into the key game.“Ezekiel has been training with us this week and he is set to start against El Jaish. As for Wagner and Paulinho, we will asses them today and the medical team will make the call.”
Arabi’s coach ended the press conference talking up the local players who played against Al Sailiyah.
“The young players who played against Al Sailiya did a good job for the club. They worked so hard for the team, and that is the important for us. Against El Jaish it’s a big game and we will target all three points and continue with a good team spirit.”
Meanwhile, Al Ahli are looking for an upset against Al Sadd.
Ahli’s Qatari coach Yusef Adam spoke to the local media ahead of today's tie.
Adam said that Ahli are facing one of the best sides in the QSL: “Al Sadd are a strong team, but even if they have missing players they have the quality off the bench to make up for it. It will be a tough game but we are aiming to cause an upset.”
Al Sadd are without two key attackers heading into the game, but despite this Adam is wary of the quality the Wolves have.
“Bagdad Bounjah and Hassan Haydoos will be a major loss for their side, but they have many more dangerous players from the bench, they have a young squad and plenty of players who can cause problems for us.
Adam ended the press conference stressing that his side is capable to cause an upset.
“The pressure is on Al Sadd to win, we know how to face them and my players have plenty of confidence. We are always looking to win, and we trust ourself to get the result that we need to help Al Ahli push up the table.”.
