Doha: Second placed Lekhwiya will be looking to gain full points when they take on bottom sitters Al Shamal in the 18th round match of the Qatar Stars League here today.
Lekhwiya has 39 points from 17 matches one less than leaders Al Sadd, while Al Shamal are fighting relegation battle with just seven points.
“To be fair, it’s one of these games that I don’t like very much. There is a lot to lose and not too much to win,” Lekhwiya coach Michael Laudrup said.
“Let me explain. We are playing the bottom-placed team. We are big favorites but we have to show that on the pitch. So that’s why it’s one of those games that I don’t quite like. As for our last result, I don’t think we deserved to lose but we did.”
“As for our battle with Al Sadd, in the last 4 or 5 games, we have been alternating the top spot in the table. The difference of 1 or 2 points that we see now is not that important. We play each other on February 28. That’s a big game and we have to see after that game how the points are in the standings, he added.
Laudrup said besides his club and Al Sadd other clubs are also in the race for this year’s QSL title.
“This year the battle is between us and Al Sadd. Both of us have had a good season so far. But I still think that there are a couple of other teams that are capable of winning the title. So I don’t think it’s just us two who are title contenders in the Qatar Stars League.”
Al Shamal coach Dragan Cvetkovic said: “This game is against a big team and a big side. It’s a very tough game and a big challenge for us especially when they have many big-name players. Lekhwiya will have Sebastian Soria back for this game. So our task is very difficult in this game. And not just Soria but they also have other players who can change the fortune of the game, like Weiss and Nam too.”
“We have to ensure that we don’t make the same mistakes that we did in the previous two games. If we make such mistakes, it will be very difficult especially when we play against the Lekhwiya players who have very good individual technique.”
“Unfortunately the results don’t reflect the job done in the club every day. I admit that our team is fragile. The problem is that when we concede one goal the team becomes more fragile, especially when we concede the goal early. We have to rectify that and focus on the right balance between attack and defense. But that is something that we are working on every day, we are eager to get out first win.”
Meanwhile, the classic derby between Al Sadd and Al Arabi is once again upon us this weekend, this has been one of the big derbies over the years and shouldn’t disappoint in being a tough and competitive clash.
The match will kick off at 7:1pm in the Jassim Bin Hamad stadium on Saturday.
Despite the fact that Al Arabi in recent years haven’t been able to keep pace with their cross town rivals won’t mean a thing this Saturday. In this highly charged and contested atmosphere the Dream Team will make the short trip to Al Sadd and will be looking to do better than the 1-1 draw which they achieved in the first half of the season.
Al Arabi currently finds itself in 8th spot in QSL and has been finding it hard to get back their early form which saw them in the top four at the start of the season.
Al Sadd is once again leading in the QSL standings due to Lekhwiya losing to El Jaish last week. This slender lead of just one point over last season’s champions is all the motivation the Wolves will need going into the round 18 clash with Al Arabi as they look to maintain their claim on the title.The Peninsula
