Al Rayyan players in action during a practice session yesterday.
Doha: Al Rayyan will target their maiden win this season when they take on Al Khor in today’s QNB Stars League (QSL) Round 4 clash at Al Gharafa Stadium.
Laurent Blanc’s men were involved in a thrilling Qatar Clasico contest with champions Al Sadd on Wednesday in which Xavi Hernandez’ men prevailed 4-2. The Lions are craving for a win as they have just earned two points from drawn games against Umm Salal and Al Wakrah.
However, the arrival of their latest signing – Colombian international James Rodriguez – is sure to make an impact for Al Rayyan. Rodriguez trained with the team on Saturday but it is not clear of him making Qatar debut today.
Blanc said his team must win points against Al Khor.
“I know the Al Khor team and their coach well, but we will fight because we need points. I hope some of my players – who were absent – will return. We talked a lot about the deal to sign James Rodriguez, but now we have to focus on playing against Al Khor,” Blanc said yesterday during a press conference.
“I have all the confidence in my players to provide a fighting performance and achieve victory against Al Khor. We played three matches before this one and have two points. So we have to compensate for the loss of points and get full points from the next match. We need the three points,” the Frenchman said.
The eight-time QSL champions will miss the services of one of their key players, Ahmed Abdelmaqsoud in today’s match, but Blanc is confident of the players at his disposal.
“We will miss a player like Ahmed Abdelmaqsoud. He is a great player, but I will not change my plan. We need players in the middle so we got Khamis and in my opinion, this is a good combination for the team. We have to have great motivation and fight,” Blanc said.
“I wish to include the ones who were absent and strengthen the starting line-up with Ahmed Yasser. It is true that my top list of players is not complete now, but I hope it will be completed in the coming days or weeks,” he said.
On the other hand, Al Khor will be looking forward to an improved performance to get out of the danger zone, having only collected one point from the first three matches this season.
“Our performances have been good during the first three rounds despite the lack of wins. I say to all fans of the club not to give up on the players. We have seen our team in previous matches that worked hard and fought on the field, but it was the small mistakes that cost us,” coach Winfried Schafer said.
“We know that Al Rayyan have many international players, but our project is different to theirs. Ours is a young side with talented players. We do not fear Al Rayyan and are preparing strongly for this match. Step by step, we will do what is required and you will notice the team’s development in the upcoming matches,” Shafer said.
In other matches today, Al Gharafa face Umm Salal at 16:45 at the Khalifa International Stadium before Al Wakrah meet Al Ahli at 19:30 at the same venue.
