Lekhwiya aim to go full throttle against Al Sailiya today as the Qatar Stars League heads towards a thrilling finish with just five rounds remaining.
Djamel Belmadi’s side were in a comfortable position a few weeks ago when they topped the table by six points, but a defeat and two draws allowed Al Sadd to leapfrog them on goal difference to inject some thrill and suspense into the tournament.
Coming from a 3-0 thrashing of UAE’s Al Jazira in their first group match in the Asian Champions League, Lekhwiya are exuding confidence, but Belmadi is well aware that an adverse result at this stage of the tournament could prove fatal in their quest for a fifth QSL title.
“It’s an important game for my side which we cannot afford to lose,” he said at his pre-match press conference.
“It’s a crucial game in the race for the title we have to win. We have a short turn around in games from the Champions League and I hope that tomorrow we will be able to continue our good form against Al Jazira when we take on Al Sailiya.”
Belmadi ended the press conference revealing that his side will be boosted by a few returning players who were sidelined through injury.
 “We have some players coming back, especially Chico Flores, which will be a boost for us. We will try and find the right balance in this game with my squad, the important point is that we win and keep the pressure up on Al Sadd who at the moment are ahead of us.”
Meanwhile Al Sailiya’s Tunisian coach Sami Trabelsi is plotting an upset after his team beat Al Ahli last.
“We won in a good way against Al Ahli, and showed plenty of heart. I think the players played well and with great motivation. My players gave everything in that match I am proud of them. We now need to continue that good vein of form against Lekhwiya,” said Trablesi.
“Lekhwiya have plenty of good, technical players and a good striker in Yusef El Arabi. However they have problems in defence. The team is not equal in that sense. We are trying to exploit these weaknesses going into the game,” he added.
Trabelsi ended his press conference stressing that he was not giving much importance to Lekhwiya’s shock 3-1 defeat to Umm Salal earlier.
“Lekhwiya have a big squad and I think they went into the game in a relaxed way against Umm Salal. I am not taking their defeat at face value, we will not meet this Lekhwiya side on Thursday.”


Confident Umm Salal take on relegation-threatened Muaither
Umm Salal take on Muaither today, looking for a repeat of their stunning 3-1 win over Lekhwiya last time out. Orange Fortress boss Mahmoud Jaber spoke to the local media ahead of the tie at Qatar SC stadium.
Jaber said that Umm Salal’s game will be a real challenge. “The match tomorrow will be difficult as Muaither are fighting for survival in the league and the pressure is on us to match the performance that we had against Lekhwiya. We have to be at full concentration for this game.”
“We are six points away from relegation, and we are still in danger of getting pulled into the battle. Our aim is to win this game in order to pull away from this area and be sure to enjoy the final games of the season” added the Umm Salal head coach.
Jaber spoke highly of his team’s recent results. “We have progressed in the last four games in my opinion. When we beat Lekhwiya people started to notice how well we have done, but I know personally my side have played well. Muaither are a dangerous side, they have played well against teams around them in the league. They are scoring in most of their games so we have to be careful when we play them on Thursday evening.”
Things are not looking good for Muaither, who are currently in thirteenth place in the QSL standings.
French coach Philipe Birol gave his thoughts on the game to the press ahead of the tie.
The Frenchman praised his opponents. “Umm Salal did a good job in defeating Lekhwiya, which was a big surprise. They have key players in attack, such as Yannick Sagbo. Umm Salal defend well and are very compact across the pitch and that is what we have been concentrating on this week in training.”
“After three minutes the game against Al Rayyan was done because we conceded two goals. I am looking now for a reaction from my players when we take on Umm Salal” he added.
Muaither will be boosted by the return of defender Bruno Aguiar. “This match will see the return of Bruno Aguiar from suspension, this is good news for my side. Bruno is our professional, he is strong technically and in the air and we will be relying on him to improve the side against Umm Salal.”

Fixtures
Al Sailiya vs Lekhwiya  4:50pm
Umm Salal vs Muaither  7:00pm