Al Duhail will look to post a perfect six wins from six when they round
off their 2018 AFC Champions League Group B campaign at home to UAE’s Al
Wahda at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium today.
Ismail Mohamed struck the only goal of the game as the Qatari side
registered five wins in a row following a 1-0 victory over Zobahan last
week and they will progress to the last 16 as one of the form teams on
the continent.
Al Wahda’s 4-1 home defeat to Lokomotiv in early April confirmed their
elimination after going into the penultimate game with a realistic
chance of progressing to the next round.
The group winners have won an incredible 13 games in a row since early
February and go into the game having not played for over a week, while
Al Wahda defeated Al Jazira 3-0 in the UAE President’s Cup on Wednesday.
Luiz Junior is suspended for Al Duhail after picking up his second
booking of the group stage last time out, while the trio of Balazs
Dzsudzsak, Salem Sultan and Mohamed Abdulbasit return from one-game bans
for the visitors.
Meanwhile, Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi indicated yesterday that he will
give young players a chance against Al Wahda. The Algerian wanted his
team to have a clear record before they go into the knockout stages.
“Today’s match is an opportunity for a number of young players. We have
number of young players on the bench, because the club’s policy is based
on the young players who are future of the club and country,” Belmadi
said.
Duhail will miss the services of Tunisian attacking midfielder Youssef
Msakny, who is likely out of action for six months with a cruciate
ligament injury he sustained during their QNB Stars League match against
Al Sailiya. Belmadi conceded he will miss Msakny, but the Duhail coach
said it was not the first time his team will miss a key player. “We’re
going into today’s game in order to play at the best possible level and
to achieve a positive result. Both Msakni and Youssef El-Arabi are
important for us, but we also have Nam Tae-Hee, Karim Boudiaf and other
players. The team must work as a group and not depend on a particular
player,” he said.
“We also missed many players due to international commitments during the
season, but we still won many matches in the league. So the focus
should not be on individuals but to work collectively as a team,” he
added.
Al Gharafa to play for pride
Meanwhile, the bottom two sides in Group A of the 2018 AFC Champions
League will close their continental campaigns today as Tractorsazi
Trabriz host Al Gharafa at Yadegar-e Emam Stadium in Tabriz, Iran.
Al Gharafa’s 3-2 home defeat to Al Jazira two weeks ago ended the Qatari
side’s hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds because of an
inferior head-to-head record against the Emirati team.
Al Gharafa will be without Assim Madibo after his red card against Al
Jazira as the sides aim to end the competition on a high having won just
one game between them.
Tractorsazi have endured a miserable campaign and have yet to pick up a
win, with a 2-0 reversal against Al Ahli on Matchday Five finally
confirming their elimination.
The hosts’ form domestically has been equally disappointing as Friday’s
loss to Sepidrood Rasht was their 10th game without a win, while Al
Gharafa’s last game was a 3-0 win over Qatar SC.
Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi (right) speaks at a press conference yesterday, ahead of the AFC Champions League Group B match against UAE’s Al Wahda at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha. PICTURE: Anas al-Samaraee