Languishing at the basement of the QNB Stars League, Qatar Sports Club will have to get their act together soon if they are to stay in the domestic top flight.
With just one win from seven matches, they will become the prime candidates for relegation if they don’t notch up a few wins in the coming few weeks.
They have a great chance today to kick-start their revival when they take on equally threatened Al Khor in round eight of the tournament today.
The fact they will be playing on their own home ground would therefore be a psychological boost for them. A victory over Al Khor combined with the possibility of Al Markhiya losing to Al Ahli will help them jump to 10th spot  and give them a platform from where they can proceed further with some fresh focus.
“We badly need a victory and three points to move up the ladder. This is a good opportunity to do it, and that too, in front of home fans, Qatar SC coach Gabriel Calderon told reporters.
“The two QSL Cup fixtures in between the league’s seventh and eighth rounds helped us assess our own strengths and weaknesses.”
One of Qatar Sports Club’s weaknesses has been their poor finishing , which Calderon is keen to solve soon.
“We’ve a big problem to rectify. Our scoring rate has to be improved. Lack of finishing is our biggest concern. We only have to score goals. Overall, our game is good and I’m satisfied with our players’ performance. We need a good striker to deliver the goods.
“We’ll sorely miss our main striker Michael Babatunde in this match due to suspension as he had picked up two yellow cards during the match against Al Rayyan in the last round. This may be a good chance for other strikers to prove themselves. I just wish they come good when it matters the most.
“My players are showing good spirit in training, but that isn’t reflecting on our results. We’re the side which has lost the most number of games (six) and conceded the most number of goals (18),” he said.
Al Khor’s new coach Nassif al-Bayawi, meanwhile, is keen to make a good first impression.
“First of all, I’m no stranger to Qatar football having assisted French coach Bernard Simondi at Al Kharaitiyat. I’m happy to be back coaching in this country and I look forward to my first league match, against Qatar SC, with a lot of hope. We’re definitely looking forward to a positive result,” he said.
“Qatar SC are the bottom side, but we aren’t taking them lightly. We’re just above them in the table. We’re coming from four straight defeats in the league and the players’ morale is very low. My immediate priority is to boost their morale and, hopefully, you’ll see a different Al Khor in the future games.”
Fourth-placed Al Sailiya, meanwhile, are hoping to improve further when they take on Al Gharafa today.
 “It’ll be a tough game as Al Gharafa are a highly-unpredictable side. They’ve exhibited two levels in their game — excellent and medium. In some matches, they play excellently and in some other they put up average performances,” said coach Sami Trablesi
“On our part, we’ve three or four players back from national duties. We’ll try to stay fully focused and pull off another positive result. Our players are showing consistency in their performance and we’re approaching each match with victory in mind.
“The co-operation and team spirit among my wards is worth mentioning and that reflects on our results. Before the season began, we had worked a lot on improving our game and that’s now rewarding us. The team is getting better after every outing,” added Trablesi whose team have won five of their seven matches and have 15 points.
Al Sailiya’s consistency is a source of worry for Al Gharafa coach Jean Fernandez.
 “Al Sailiya are a well-organised side. Their local as well as professional players are a good mix. And they’ve perhaps the second-best attack line in the tournament. We’ve a lot of respect for them,” said Fernandez.
“Al Sailiya are becoming stronger after every match and we’ve to be really wary of them. They’ve just entered the top four on the back of some strong displays.”
Al Gharafa are sixth in the standings and Fernandez is clear that his forwards need to up their game a notch.
“I expect my players to put a memorable performance. I need more efficiency from our forwards. We’ve scored only eight goals from seven matches, so our scoring rate has to be improved. It’s true that we’re in sixth position in the standings, but we just have to score more and more goals. Otherwise, it’s difficult to win matches,” he added.

Today’s matches
Al Gharafa vs Al Sailiya, 4pm
Al Markhiya vs Al Ahli 4pm
Qatar SC vs Al Khor 6pm.
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