DOHA: Qatar Stars League (QSL) champions Lekhwiya will take on Eljaish today knowing the latter are still smarting from a loss against Umm Salal last week.
Lekhwiya, winners of the last two seasons, beat Al Sailiyah 2-0 but Eljaish were upset by Umm Salal by a similar margin.
Coached by Djamel Belmadi, Lekhwiya will once again bank on scoring goals to win matches as they did against Al Sailiyah.
For Lekhwiya, the good signs were the scoring form of key players Korea’s Nam Tae-Hee (13) and Qatari striker Sebastian Soria (25).
Belmadi said: “It will be a difficult match (against Eljaish). They may have lost the first match against Umm Salal but this also means they would come out firing in the next match. We expect a strong performance from them.”
He added: “Let’s not forget they were the runners-up (in QSL). They have great potential and fine players in Karim Ziani, Wagner and Adriano. They have the will and the players to win the title. Our games against them have always been tough. For us, Mourad Meghni is struggling with an injury and is unlikely for this match. Sebastian Soria appeared in good form last game and that’s brilliant news for us.”
In the rival camp, there’s a need for some quick recovery after the loss last week against Umm Salal.
Razvan Lucescu, coach of Eljaish, said: “We are well prepared for this game. My players are in a better frame of mind than they were for the first-round clash. We are coming from a loss but the six-day gap is enough for us to recover and plan better.”
He added: “The players are motivated for this clash. It is difficult to predict who will win but we will play with a positive intent. Like I said, the six-day gap to rest and recover can only be a good thing so there is no point on complaining about this or that.”
Umm Salal last Saturday launched the new QSL season with a convincing 2-0 win over Eljaish at Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Othman El Assas (34) and Maher Yusuf baker (74) produced the two goals for Umm Salal in the tense clash. This week’s clash takes place at Al Gharafa Stadium and kick-off is set for 6:00pm.
Also today, Umm Salal will be seeking to collect their second win in as many weeks when they ‘host’ Al Rayyan at Al Arabi Stadium.
Last week, Umm Salal stunned Eljaish 2-0 to kick-off the new QSL season on a positive note.
However, the Betrand Marchand-coached side will be tested against Al Rayyan, 2-1 winners over Qatar SC last week.
Al Rayyan, who finished the last QSL season in fourth spot, will once again rely on the brilliance of high-scoring striker Rodrigo Tabata and new forward Nilmar.
In another clash today, Al Sailiyah will aim to strike winning form against in-form Al Wakra after their loss against Lekhwiya.
Coached by Mehmed Bazdarevic, Al Wakra stunned former QSL champions Al Gharafa in the first-round clash last Sunday. The second-round match takes place at Al Rayyan Stadium. Both the games kick-off at 8:00pm. THE PENINSULA
