Former champions Al Rayyan meet Al Arabi today in a crucial QNB Stars League (QSL) game, which can make or break their bid to regain the coveted ‘Falcon Shield’.
Just two points behind table toppers Al Duhail, Al Rayyan need to grab all three points against Al Arabi in the Week 19 tie that will take place at Al Janoub Stadium with 4:30pm kick off. A win will take Al Rayyan to the top spot with 44 points at least until Al Duhail clash with Al Gharafa tomorrow. A defeat or even a draw can cost the Lions dearly in their title hunt.
Al Rayyan are taking today’s game as a ‘final’ but coach Diego Aguirre has urged his ranks not to panic.
“We will be at the highest level of readiness to play a strong match. The most important thing for us is that we play in our usual way and do our best to get what we want from this match,” Aguirre told a pre-match press conference.
“We continued our training in the same way and we should be at the top of our readiness and focus,” he added.
The coach said all he want from his players is to give a top display.
“We are ready for everything, we know that the upcoming match against Al Arabi is very important, we should not think about winning or losing, we should only think of providing our best level in this match, which is like a final,” said Aguirre.
Al Rayyan player Yacine Brahimi said, “We know how important is the game against Al Arabi at this stage, especially because the difference between us and Al Duhail is only two points, so we must focus on our team and ourselves. We have to take each match separately. We consider Al Arabi game as a final and we will work to provide a big match and get the three points.”
Meanwhile, Al Arabi – fifth on the table with 24 points – are hoping to recover from defeat to fourth-placed Al Gharafa (31 points) in the previous round.
“We will try to take advantage of all our chances in the remaining four games and see what will happen at the end, but it is difficult to get above Al Gharafa in the table,” said Al Arabi coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.
“The defeat had an effect after the match, as the players were frustrated because we wished to win against Al Gharafa. I had to explain to our players that they did their best and have to regain their confidence against Al Rayyan. I know that both teams always have many fans, but in the current situation they cannot attend the games, but I hope we will make our fans happy at the end of the game,” he added.
Al Arabi player Hamdi Harbaoui said: “Al Rayyan will play very seriously as they are close to winning the league. They will be under immense pressure in the remaining four games, so I believe they will do their best right from the start of the game.”
Today’s other match at Al Sadd Stadium will see bottom-placed Al Shahania battle against Al Sailiya as they struggle to avoid relegation. The match will kick off at 6:45pm.
