Al Sadd players take part in a training session in Amman yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Al Sadd are looking to maintain their winning form as they meet Al Faisaly in away Group B game at the AFC Champions League at Amman International Stadium tonight.
The Wolves after a shaky start to their continental campaign need points to keep their hopes alive for the knockout stage.
Following a goalless draw against Sharjah and a 3-1 loss to FC Nasaf, Al Sadd bounced back in the competition with an emphatic 6-0 victory over Al Faisaly at home two weeks ago and more points tonight will be a boost in their bid to progress through the group stage after two seasons.
The 2011 champions are currently third in the group with four points, three points behind leaders Sharjah and they are trailing second-placed FC Nasaf by two points.
The Bruno Miguel-coached side, which is leading the Expo Stars League (ESL), thrashed Al Markhiya 5-0 in Qatar’s top flight on Thursday with the Portuguese saying the team is ready to go all out for another victory.
“We play attacking football but we will adopt the strategy based on match’s situation. We have come here to take three points and we will give our best to win the match,” Miguel said at a pre-match press conference yesterday.
“We expect a good crowd turn out supporting the home team but that will motivate us in the match too,” he added.
Al Sadd captain Hasan Al Haydos said his team’s big victory against the Jordanian side in the previous match will mean nothing in the return leg.
Al Duhail players in action during a training session, yesterday.
“It is a new game which will be played in a new atmosphere, and it is going to be a challenging match for both the teams,” said the Qatari forward.
“We have done very well in our recent matches and we are looking forward to maintain our winning form against Al Faisaly,” Al Haydos added.
The match will kick off at 9pm (Doha time).
‘No time to rest’ for Al Duhail
Meanwhile in Doha, Al Duhail are gearing up to host Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al Nassr in a much-anticipated Group E clash at the Khalifa International Stadium (KIS) tomorrow.
The Red Knights, who earned a comeback 3-2 win over Al Rayyan in ESL on Thursday, started their preparation for Al Nassr clash on Saturday under the slogan “no time to rest”.
French coach Christophe Galtier also supervised a strenuous session yesterday as Al Duhail, sitting third in the group with a solitary point behind Al Nassr (9 points) and Persepolis (6 points), seek points to revive their campaign.
It is expected to be another blockbuster between the two sides with the 40,000-seater KIS set to be filled with spectators. The Asian opponents played out a nail-biting game which saw the Qatar outfit going down fighting against the Saudi Arabian club 3-4 in Riyadh two weeks ago.
Al Duhail will again face the challenge of five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, Senegalese Sadio Mane, Brazilian Talisca, Portuguese Otavio and Abdulrahman Ghareeb, hoping their big guns including Qatar striker Almoez Ali, Kenyan spearhead Michael Olunga and Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho to excel in the crucial clash.
Al Nassr, who are scheduled to arrive in Doha at 11:00am today, will hit the KIS training pitch in the evening.
