Al Duhail coach Walid Regragui sounded confident his team can win the QNB Stars League and said their title fate is in their own hands. Duhail are just a point ahead of Al Rayyan going into the final two matches of the league campaign, but in their last matches have won one, draw one and lost the other.
Duhail, which lost to Al Sadd in their previous match, face Al Khor today, while Al Rayyan take on Al Shahania. “We must beat Al Khor. We hope to remain in high spirit as we did in all previous matches, especially against Al Sadd in the last round, even though we failed to get any point from that game. I am satisfied with our players’ performance against Al Sadd. We also hope to sustain the momentum. We know that Al Khor will be keen to grab all three points,” Regragui said yesterday.
“The match will not be easy, but the advantage we have is that we still control our fate and we must win the next two matches in order to win the league. This is what I told my players. We now think only about the Al Khor match,” he added.
Regragui said defender Asim Madibo will the Al Khor match. “Madibo has also joined our list of injured players, but we are not looking for excuses. I have confidence in the players who are ready to take the field,” the Duhail coach said. 
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan coach Diego Aguirre said his players need to offer their best on the field in the final two matches. He also warned his players not to take bottom side Shahania lightly as they are playing for survival. 
Shahania have been doing well ever since Nabil Anwar took charge of them replacing Spaniard Jose Murcia. They beat Al Ahli 3-1 in Week 18, the first match they played under Nabil, and followed it up with a 2-2 draw with Al Sailiya and goalless draw with Qatar SC last week.
“The Shahania match will be difficult mainly because they are playing for survival, so we have to offer our best on the field. We will try to win because we do not want to lose any point and this is our last chance to compete for the title. Our loss in this match means losing the dream of winning the league, so the match will be a final for us,” Aguirre said.
“Al Sadd’s victory over Al Duhail in the last round was wonderful for us. That was what we had hoped for about that match, so I am happy. I was also happy that (Rodrigo) Tabata, our former player, scored the winning goal, but the most important thing for us was that Al Sadd beat Al Duhail. In football, everything can change during a match and it is important for us to play well and score victory. I trust the players, all of them are in good condition and ready for the match against Al Shahania,” added Aguirre. 
In another match today, Umm Salal face Al Gharafa as they seek to stay up in the league. Umm Salal, who are placed 10th and are still facing relegation threat, have not lost a match since the QNB Stars League resumed following a long break forced by the coronavirus pandemic. 
Al Gharafa have ensured the fourth-place finish despite being drawn 2-2 by Al Khor. 
The Cheetahs, coached by Serb Slavisa Jokanovic, have a seven-point difference with fifth-placed Al Arabi and sixth-placed Al Sailiya with only two matches remaining.

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