The match at Al Khor Stadium will kick off at 7:35pm.
On Friday, Al Sailiya will face Al Rayyan at Al Ahli Stadium, while Al Khor take on Al Markhiya at Al Khor Stadium and Al Arabi host Al Sadd.
The round’s action will conclude on Saturday, with Umm Salal taking on defending champions Al Duhail at Al Gharafa Stadium and Qatar SC facing Al Ahli at Al Duhail Stadium.
The fourth round action saw the maximum number of goals (27) scored for a week so far in this season’s league. Obviously, there were many high-scoring games and outstanding individual performances, and not a single draw.
The Al Arabi vs Al Sadd derby is part of Qatar football legend, always evoking a keen interest among all stakeholders.
Al Sadd go into the Match of the Week on the back of a strong performance against Qatar SC while Al Arabi had lost to Umm Salal in the previous round and have to find motivation going into the match.
Al Duhail, who lead the standings from Al Sadd on better goal difference, will face an in-form Umm Salal.
The Red Knights will be bolstered by the presence of coach Djamel Belmadi back on the touchline as he was ordered to be in the stands for their last two league matches due to a disciplinary action taken after their Round 2 fixture against Al Arabi.
The face-off between two in-form strikers, Youssef El Arabi of Al Duhail and Yannick Sagbo of Umm Salal, will be the sub-plot of this encounter. Both players performed crucial roles, with hat-tricks, in their Round 3 victories. El Arabi leads the top-scorers’ chart with eight goals, while Sagbo shares the second spot with Sebastian Soria with five goals each.
Sparks are bound to fly when formidable Al Rayyan clash with Al Sailiya. Moroccan forward Abderrazzak Hamdellah is leading The Lions’ charge while Al Sailiya should take heart from the fact that Brazilian Wagner Ribeiro has sort of regained his original form, as was evident from his display against Al Kharaitiyat in their previous game.
Al Gharafa will also be on a high, having scored their first victory in the league, when they face Al Kharaitiyat. Promoted Al Markhiya and Al Ahli will have to raise their game by a few notches to move up from the bottom when they play Al Khor and Qatar SC respectively.
(QSL)
