Fresh from their Sheikh Jassim Cup success, Al Sadd will not be short on confidence when they begin their quest for their 14th league title with a match against newly-promoted Al Markhiya tomorrow.
Baghdad Bounedjah’s scintillating hat-trick last week helped The Wolves thrash Duhail 4-1 to grab early season bragging rights, but the eight-month long league will be a totally different ball game and test them to the fullest.
With Lekhwiya dominating the local scene over the past few seasons, it is Al Sadd who have had to pay a heavy price.
Although they are the most successful club side in Qatar with numerous titles, including the AFC Champions league crown in 2011, they have not won the league since 2013, something that bothers their fans no end.
Logic dictates that they will have it easy over Markhiya, but the top-flight newbies too are also eager to cause a few shocks as the tournament progresses.
 “Markhiya will be a tough match for us, they come into the league on the back of an undefeated campaign in the second division, Al Sadd assistant coach Nuno Dalmada said yesterday.
“They will have plenty of confidence and it will be our job to get the better of them on Saturday,” noted Dalmada.
Despite this Sheikh Jassim Cup success, Dalmada stressed that the side are not getting ahead of themselves. “Winning last weekend is now behind us. Now we have to focus on this match. At the end of the day we now have to look to win this match. This is our aim.
“We have a number of players who are injury doubts for the match, due to fatigue. We will be making a decision in regards to the squad after training,” added Dalmada.
Al Markhiya’s Qatari coach Yusuf Adam began his interaction with the media by praising the team management for hiring him.
“I want to express my thanks to the club administration for their confidence in my abilities and I hope that we can show our potential over the course of the season to them,” said Adam.
“Al Sadd are one of the biggest sides in Qatar and will be fighting for the title this season. However that said, my side are fully prepared for this campaign and everyone is ready to do their best for the club.
Markhiya striker Ali Mejbel insisted that his side were not fazed by Al Sadd. 
“Many people will be predicting an Al Sadd win on Saturday. However the squad is not going into the game second best. We have shown a good team spirit in preseason and I believe we will be fighting for the points against Al Sadd.”