By Sports Reporter/Doha
Al Sadd face another tough game in round 12 as they welcome El Jaish to the Jassim bin Hamad stadium in the Qatar Stars League tomorrow. The match will be played at 6.30pm
The Wolves are currently leading the league with 29 points and have a 3-point advantage over second place Lekhwiya. They showed last week why they are a top outfit after coming back from a two goal deficit to win 3-2 and secure all three points against Al Gharafa.
El Jaish moved above the Cheetahs after a spirited 10-man display against QSL new boys Al Shamal, winning 2-1.
El Jaish will be looking to break the dominance of Al Sadd, who until now have not lost a single game in the Qatar Stars League.
Last season El Jaish got the upper hand beating the Wolves on both occasions; in the first half of the season they won by a single goal in a tight affair. Then in the second half of the season, they El Jaish won 2-1 away to secure the bragging rights for the campaign.
El Jaish will be looking to maintain their place in third spot and key players to look out for in this clash for them include the indomitable Tunisian Mohammed Methnani, Brazilian playmaker Romarinho and the new Korean forward Keun Ho-Lee.
Al Sadd might still be missing their star signing Muriqui but Hassan al-Haydoos has done well playing in a more advanced position this season and the Wolves as a team are contributing a lot of goals. Nadir Belhadj and Tabata - as always will be key to the Wolves who are also currently missing Khalfan Ibrahim Khalfan with a knee injury.
El Jaish will have a tough task on their hands as they face Al Sadd who are one of the top attacking teams in the league with a joint top goal difference of + 17 goals which they currently share with Lekhwiya.
Meanwhile, Al Ahli will take on Lekhwiya today at the Grand Hamad stadium in a confident mood after their thrilling 4-2 win earlier this week.
Al Ahli were down by two goals at half-time, but struck back with vengeance to score one of their best victories in the tournament. All their goals came in the second half.
“After our amazing comeback against Al Arabi last week the team is on a high but we haven’t had much time to prepare for the next game, the games are coming thick and fast. We managed to be one of the few teams to beat Lekhwiya last season so this gives us confidence but we know it;s going be tough to repeat the feat.” Al Ahli assistant coach- Khaled Taj.
“As we all know Lekhwiya has some of the best players in the league and they also possess a fantastic bench. Our target is to be in the top 4 at the end of the season so we have to go into this game trying to wining it.”
“Lekhwiya scored 5 goals in the previous round so we all know the quality that they have at their disposal. They are a threat right from the defence all the way to the attack.”
Lekhwiya coach Michael Laudrup was wary of Al Ahli’s bility to mount strong counterattacks
“Al Ahli is a very exciting team, they are well organised, they have two good strikers with a lot of pace. They are especially strong in the counter attack. We saw what they did in the last game against Al Arabi, they have great qualities,” said the Dane.
“But we too have a lot of good qualities and they will have to worry about us as well. Our defense has been great this season, we are very compact. As a team we have conceded just 7 goals.”
