Lekhwiya coach Michael (left) and Laudrup Al Sadd coach Hussein Ammouta.
By Agencies/Tashkent
Qatar champions Lekhwiya face a tough away match in their AFC Champions League campaign when they travel to Tashkent to take on two-time semi-finalists, Bunyodkor today.
Lekhwiya have picked up just one point in Group A following last week’s draw at home to Al Nassr having lost 3-0 to Persepolis at the start of the campaign.
And coach Michael Laudrup is certain to be without striker Sebastian Soria after the striker suffered an injury during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Umm Salal in the Qatar Stars League, while defender Ahmed Yasser is also set to miss the clash at Bunyodkor Stadium.
“I expect an interesting and difficult match against Bunyodkor. We watched three games of Bunyodkor and we have studied our opponent well,” said Laudrup.
“The game is very important for us and Qatar football. We will try to play attacking football to achieve a victory.
“We have four more matches in the group and we want to win all of them. Bunyodkor likes to play attacking football too. Sebastian Soria was injured in the last game in the Qatar Stars League. He will miss some matches and he won`t play tomorrow as he has stayed in Qatar.”
Bunyodkor still harbour ambitions of winning the AFC Champions League this year despite making a winless start to Group A and Sergey Lushchan’s side are looking to kick start their campaign today.
Bunyodkor began their campaign with a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr last month, but failed to follow up two weeks ago and lost 1-0 at home to Iran’s Persepolis.
The result leaves Bunyodkor, who reached the semi-finals in both 2008 and 2012, five points adrift of Persepolis but importantly just a point behind second placed Al Nassr.
“Both teams need a victory, so the match will be tough. We will try to show our best on the field. We have studied Lekhwiya very well and we know their strong and weak sides,” said Lushchan.
“We are ready for all situations in the match. If we score a fast goal we will not play defensive football, we will try to show our football. The team is fully ready for the game and our main aim is to win the AFC Champions League.
“It is football and anything can happen during the game. We conceded our goals at home from a penalty kick. We know our mistakes and I have told the players to solve them in training.
“We can win the match only with our game. We should create chances and use them. I ask the fans to believe in our team.”
Sadd look to maintain unbeaten run
After coming through two penalty shootouts in the Play-offs just to qualify for the Group Stage of the AFC Champions League, Qatari side Al Sadd have maintained their unbeaten run and lead the way in their group after two round of games.
Winners of the 2011 tournament after a penalty shootout victory over Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the final, Al Sadd held their nerve to eliminate Riffa of Bahrain and Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates in a similar manner during this year’s Play-offs to secure their spot in Group C.
They then drew 0-0 at Iranian champions Foolad Khouzestan in their opening game before entertaining Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, the team that eliminated them in last year’s quarterfinals, in their home opener on Matchday Two. And thanks to a clinical 29th minute strike by
Khalfan Ibrahim on the counter-attack, the Qatari side exacted revenge on the 2014 finalists and leapfrogged them into pole position in the group with four points from two games.
They will look to maintain their momentum when they welcome Uzbek Cup holders Lokomotiv to Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Matchday Three.
Appearing in the Group Stage for the first time, the Uzbek side lost 3-1 at Al Hilal in their opening game and they remain winless in the group after being held 1-1 by Foolad in their home opener as Oleg Zoteev’s early strike was cancelled out by Mehrdad Jamaati. Now time for the Qatar clubs to deliver.
Fixtures
Al Sadd vs Lokomotiv (UZB)
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Bunyodkor (UZB) vs Lekhwiya
Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent
