Doha: Qatar Stars League (QSL) leaders Al Rayyan will seek to cement their place at the top when they take on Al Khor in the Round 18 clash, while Al Arabi are targeting a place among the top-four as they face Lekhwiya.
In the other match today, Al Kharaitiyat aim to bounce against another struggling side Al Ahli.
All eyes will be on the Al Rayyan vs Al Khor clash but Jorge Fossati, Al Rayyan’s Uruguayan coach said today’s match a will not be a walk in the park.
“This match will be a tough test. Al Khor are a strong defensive side, we will go into the match the same as always taking it one game at a time.”
Fossati was also full of praise for his opponents.
“Al Khor are a dangerous counter attacking side. You only have to see how they have been in the last two matches against EL Jaish and Al Wakrah. We will look to give a balanced account of ourselves when we play Al Khor.”
Fossati also gave the press an update on the injuries his side has ahead of the Khor match.
“ Sergio Garcia was injured in the last match, he felt some pain and we have decided not to play him.”
The Uruguayan tactician concluded by giving an update on new winter signing Fabio Cesar.
“Right now Fabio is still undergoing physiotherapy and is gradually getting better, we will not rush to get him into the squad until he is 100% fit and ready for us.”
Meanwhile, Al Khor head coach Jean Fernandez showered his opponents with praise.
“Al Rayyan is rightly at the top of the league, I believe they have the best coach and the best player in Qatar with Rodrigo Tabata. It will be a real challenge to get a result.”
“We have had a series of good games recently and go into a match against Al Rayyan in good form. In the first half of the season we played well against Al Rayyan despite losing, we will hopefully change this when we play them on Friday,” Fernandez added.
“This match will be a huge test for our defence, Al Rayyan have a number of players who are capable of scoring. We will have to be at our best if we are to get a result.”
Meanwhile, Al Arabi boss Gianfranco Zola is expecting a strong reaction from wounded Lekhwiya.
“Lekhwiya are coming off the back of a loss to Al Sailiya, they will be looking to win again.”
The former West Ham coach noted.
“I think we can build on the good performance we had against Al Gharafa.”
Zola also noted that the game will give his side the chance to leapfrog Al Sadd and get into the top-4 places.
“We have spoken with the squad about our aim for the season, they know that if we win we will put pressure on Al Sadd, which is important for the overall aims of the side. “
“We will be without Ashkan and Ali Jasmi for this match as they are suspended. However we will find ways to cover these players in our squad. The return of Paulinho to training will help us for this match,” Zola said in response to another question.
Lehwiya’s assistant coach Bruno Oliveira believes that his side can return to winning ways, despite suffering a shock defeat to Al Sailya in Round 17.
“We will face a good side his week, but Lekhwiya is used to playing with high pressure, and I am confident we can get a good result.”
Oliveria is taking care of the side whilst head coach Djamel serves a match ban, handed to him in the wake of his sending off against Al Sailiya in Round 17.
At Al Kharaitiyat, head coach Amir Osim is targeting full points against Al Ahli.
“This week we are playing a side in a similar position to us. We have not achieved a win in three matches now, and we need to win and change our way at Al Kharaitiyat .”
Talking about his current position in the league Osim said; “Right now we are in 12th place and some would say we are fighting for survival. This is a chance for my side to get a result and we will be looking to do that against Al Ahli.”
The Peninsula
