Al Ahli and Al Khor will be desperate for a victory when the two sides clash in the QNB Stars League today. Both the sides are coming off defeats that saw them slip in the table by one place.  Al Ahli have registered four victories so far to be on 14 points and are in seventh place, while Al Khor’s are ninth with three wins and 10 points. Ahli lost 1-2 to Al Gharafa after taking the lead last week, whereas Al Khor caved in meekly to third-placed Al Rayyan 0-3.
The result also saw Gharafa occupy the sixth position in the standings on better goal difference after being tied with Al Ahli. Al Khor had won 2-0 when the teams met in the first phase. Al Ahli has suffered a setback as they will miss the services of injured striker Mohammed Muntari, who is on loan from Al Duhail. And influential midfielder Yassine Chikhaoui is unlikely to start as he is also nursing an injury.
However, they have the likes of captain Meshaal Abdullah and Ali Qadri to make up for the shortcomings. And coach George Jorge, who recently replaced fellow Spaniard Joaquin Caparros, knows how best to utilise the available resources as he had been training their youth squad. Jorge said: “We know what we can do against Al Khor. The match will be tough, as always. Our priorities are clear and we have prepared in the best possible way. Our preparations went off well and we are ready to face all situations.
“We played well against Al Gharafa, but could not sustain the momentum as the match wore on. We will sorely miss striker Muntari for this game and we may lose his services for ever as he might go back to Al Duhail, ending his loan period with us.”
“I have tried out various combinations with the players who are in good form. I have trained the side for just one game, but I know the squad having coached their youth team. We will hopefully improve a lot in the coming weeks,” Ahli coach added.
Al Khor have been showing improvement under Tunisian Nassif al-Bayawi after he replaced Frenchman Laurent Banide. Brazilian attacking midfielder Madson once again shoulders their responsibility of scoring, ably supported by captain Naif al-Buriki & Co. Khor are always a tricky side and that makes Jorge’s task harder.
Al-Bayawi said: “All, our players are ready, except Iranian defender Soroush Hossein because he is suspended. We had suffered due to the absence of Khaled Radwan and Musab Abdelmajid. And goalkeeper Amine Lecomte returned to Al Duhail after his loan period. The other players worked harder so that their absence was not felt.”
“I’m concerned about the less chances we create even though we did quite well in the recent matches, except the last one which we lost 0-3 to Al Rayyan. The team management is making efforts to strengthen the side with a goalkeeper and defender,” added al-Bayawi.
Al Khor striker Youssef Ahmed said: “The game against Al Ahli assumes great significance for us. We wanted at least a draw against Al Rayyan, but we lost by a big margin. We want to compensate for that against Al Al Ahli. The coach is finalising our game plan.
“Our performance has improved ever since coach (Al Bayawi) has taken charge. The onus is on us to implement his strategies on the field. Al Khor are a great side and I want to be a valuable addition to them,” said Youssef.

Fixtures 
Today: At 18:35pm: Al Ahli vs Al Khor at Al Ahli Stadium 
Tomorrow: 16:25pm: Al Arabi vs Al Duhail at Al Arabi Stadium; 18:35: Al Markhiya vs Qatar SC at Al Arabi Stadium 
On Saturday: 16:25pm: Al Sadd vs Al Sailiya at Al Sadd Stadium; 18:35pm: Al Rayyan vs Al Kharaitiyat at Al Sadd Stadium; 18:35pm: Umm Salal vs Al Gharafa at Al Gharafa