Qatar’s Al Rayyan are upbeat ahead of their AFC Champions League play-off against Iran’s Saipa.
The kick-off is at 18:00 at the Al Sadd Stadium in Doha tomorrow.
Qatar’s Al Duhail and Al Sadd directly qualified for the group stage of 2019 AFC Champions League by virtue of having finished as winners and runners-up of 2017-18 season QNB Stars League.
Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa, who finished third and fourth in the standings, have gone into the play-offs. If they win, they will book a berth in the group stage.
Al Rayyan are on a high after beating Al Arabi 3-1 in Week 16 of the QNB Stars League. In the process, The Lions jumped from fourth to third in the table with 30 points.
New recruit and Venezuelan striker Gelmin Rivas carries much of Al Rayyan’s hopes as he made his debut in Qatar memorable by scoring two goals and setting up the other against Al Arabi.
Al Rayyan will be bolstered by the presence of captain Rodrigo Tabata, who has been suspended for two QNB Stars League matches as a result of the decision against him by the Qatar Football Association’s Disciplinary Committee.
Tabata had missed their Al Arabi match and will also miss their Qatar Clasico against Al Sadd on 23rd February.
Al Rayyan, under Turkish coach Bulent Uygun, also have the likes of Lucca Borges, Gonzalo Viera, Koh Myong-Jin and Sebastian Soria.
Saipa qualified for play-off after finishing fourth in the Iranian league last season. They then beat India’s Minerva Punjab to qualify for Al Rayyan. The winners will enter Group B, which includes the UAE’s Al Wahda, Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan champions Lokomotiv.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Al Gharafa target a group-stage berth in this year’s AFC Champions League when they run into Zobahan of Iran in play-off. The kick-off is at 18:00 at the Al Gharafa Stadium in Doha tomorrow.
Qatar’s Al Gharafa will look to confirm their second successive appearance in the AFC Champions League. The Iranian side is attempting to qualify for the group stage for the fourth year in a row after reaching the Round of 16 last year.
Iranian Pro League runners-up Zobahan saw off three-time AFC Cup winners Kuwait SC 1-0 after extra time in the preliminary stage. Al Gharafa, coached by Frenchman Christian Gourcuff, will look to put behind the disappointment of losing to Umm Salal in Week 16 of the QNB Stars League.
The Cheetahs, who slipped one place to eight in the standings with 18 points, indeed have the potential to beat Zobahan, the runners-up in the Iranian league. If Al Gharafa win, they will join teams such as Al Wasl of the UAE and Al Zawraa of Iraq in Group A.
Al Gharafa are expected to field a full squad, with the return of Vladimir Weiss and Diogo Amado from injury.
They will also be served by goalkeeper Yousef Hassan, Tamim al-Muhaysa, Abdulaziz Hatem, Fahd al-Shammari, Yousef Muftah, Mehdi Taremi, Othman al-Yahri and Ahmed Alaaeldin.
Al Rayyan (red and black) players in action during their QNB Stars League match against Al Arabi on Thursday.
