Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi
Sparks are bound to fly when giants Al Duhail square off with football powerhouse Al Sadd in a battle for supremacy in round 9 of the QNB Stars League (QSL) at Al Sadd Stadium tomorrow.
Al Duhail are in top form and have so far crushed most of their opponents in one-sided affairs after scoring flurry of goals.
The Red Knights, who are leading the points standings with 22 points from seven victories and a draw, have so far scored a total of 33 goals. Al Sadd have 21 points from seven wins and are only behind Al Duhail due to their loss in Qatar Clasico against Al Rayyan recently.
Coach Djamel Belmadi’s side is expected to enter the ‘Match-of-the-Week’ against Xavi-led Al Sadd with the aggressive approach seen in the early part of the season.
For Al Duhail, feared striker Youssef El Arabi is expected to be the difference between the two sides, having pumped in 14 goals so far.
While Al Duhail will be targeting to retain their top position with a win, Al Sadd, on the other hand, will also have their eyes on full 3 points which will enable them to reach the top of the standings.
The Wolves, coached by shrewd tactician Jesualdo Ferreira, have all the ingredients to pull off a win against an in-form Duhail team as they have showed a glimpse of it in their previous clash when they thrashed Umm Salal 4-1 despite conceding an early goal last week.
Ferreira is happy with his team’s performance against Umm Salal and the Portuguese is hoping for a good show against Al Duhail.
“We got a good win. The number of goals doesn’t matter. What’s important is the three points. I’m happy that we scored four goals as it hasn’t happened before,” said the Portuguese, expressing concern that international commitments were taking their toll on his players in league matches.
“We should know that there are exhausted players who aren’t physically fit after playing for their national teams recently. I hope the team is at full strength before the beginning of second phase,” Ferreira said.
Meanwhile, the other fixtures tomorrow will see Al Markhiya taking on Al Arabi and Al Khor meeting Al Sailiya.
Saturday’s matches include a clash between Al Kharaitiyat and Al Ahli besides a game between Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa. The other match will be played between Umm Salal and Qatar SC.
Third-placed Al Rayyan, who also have 21 points, must be targeting a handsome victory over Al Gharafa to keep their hunt for a title intact.
Former champions Al Gharafa have so far registered just one victory and they will have to pull up their socks to cherish any hope of putting it across Al Rayyan who are coached by popular Dane Michael Laudrup
The loss to Al Sailiya last week also saw the Cheetahs slip in the standings by one place to sixth.
