Wakrah fancy chances against Rayyan

Al Wakrah coach Kais Yakoubi is hoping to exploit Al Rayyan’s mental frailties when they clash in the Qatar Stars League today.
With just one win from 10 matches, Al Wakrah are facing relegation, but Yakoubi is still excited about facing reigning champions Rayyan who are smarting from a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Al Sadd earlier last week.
“When we look to the table we know there is a big gap in quality between us and Al Rayyan. But it’s also a good opportunity to take advantage of the defeat Al Rayyan had against Al Sadd. We don’t need to give the players motivation when they play the best teams in the QSL. It’s an appropriate time to play Al Rayyan,” said Yakoubi.
“Our target is to start picking up points. We picked up our first win and we need to continue on this path if we are going to avoid relegation this season,” added the Tunisian.
Yakoubi also revealed he will be without some key players heading into the game.  “The atmosphere is good in the squad but we have had only have 72 hours to prepare for this game. Maher Yusef and Ahmed Fadel will be absent for this game but despite the missing names we are aiming to get a positive result.”
 Meanwhile, Rayyan coach Michael Laudrup is expecting a big performance from his side.
“After the game like the other day (against Al Sadd), it’s important to have a reaction and knowing my players they will show this against Al Wakrah,” said the Dane.
 “Wakrah come into the game with plenty of confidence as they haven’t lost in four games. It is a good thing that the game comes very quickly. We need to put the defeat against Al Sadd behind us. We cannot think about the league title at the moment, we just have to focus on the game that is ahead of us.”
Al Rayyan’s forwards have been misfiring in recent weeks, but Laudrup believes they will soon find their form. “I know they are upset at not scoring but I know that with forwards they will get one goal and then more will come and I hope in this moment they will do this.”
Ending the press conference, Laudrup stressed that his midfielders will need time to get back to full fitness. “Daniel Goumou has been playing well at the moment, you cannot be away from playing matches for so long and not drop off physically. We are in a run of games now and naturally he is going to drop off. I am expecting that. Likewise for Caseres. He will need two months to get back to his best when he returns, that is football.”