Al Sadd face Muaither, aim to get back to winning ways

Al Sadd will look to go six points clear at the top when they host relegation-threatened Muaither in the Expo Stars League at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday.
Sadd are the leaders with 37 points and are seeking to return to winning ways to distance themselves from other title contenders, including second-placed Al Gharafa with 34 points. Sadd have failed win their last two matches after drawing with Al Gharafa and Al Arabi.
Al Sadd coach Wesam Rizik said the match against Muaither was an important one and the goal was to get back to winning ways. “I hope that the team’s performance will be better against Muaither than in the last match against Al Arabi. Every team is going through a lean patch and I hope that we will overcome it quickly, especially since everyone realises the degree of responsibility that they have – players and technical staff alike,” Rizik said on Thursday.
“A difficult match awaits us and three very important points that we seek to obtain, and our focus will be only on victory and thus returning to the path of victories. I am expecting a strong reaction from the players after scoring only two points in the last two matches, and this does not satisfy our ambition or the ambition of Al Sadd fans. We will be fully prepared for the next match against Muaither. The character of our players will have a role in the match in order for us to make a strong comeback. We have players who are able to provide their best and maintain the top spot in the league,” he added.
Sadd will be without some key players including – goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, Mateus Uribe, Pedro Miguel and Guilherme Torres due to injury.
On the other hand, Muaither enter the match in 11th and penultimate place and will be desperate to climb out of relegation place. Coach Jorge Da Silva said his team will go into a tough clash with positive attitude.
“Our focus is on our next difficult match against the leaders and one of the strongest teams in the league Al Sadd at their home and in front of their fans. We will give everything we have and enter the match with all seriousness and strength to achieve a positive result,” he said.
“In such matches, we must play with extreme concentration and, most importantly, exploit all the opportunities that are available to us on the field. Such difficult matches are decided on small details and the players must took care of them. We will make every effort to present a special match against Al Sadd and come out with a result that satisfies us all.”
Duhail to host Shamal In another match, Al Duhail face Al Shamal at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. Shamal occupy ninth place in the table, while defending champions Duhail are seventh place with 19 points, only one point ahead of their rivals.
Al Shamal, under coach Poya Asbhagi, are looking forward to score their third victory in a row after winning the last two rounds over Umm Salal and Al Markhiya. “We achieved a valuable victory over Al Markhiya in our last match in the league, which was the second victory in a row, and now a very difficult match awaits us against a strong team,” Asbhagi said on Thursday.
“Al Duhail are the holders of the league title and regardless of their recent results, they remain a strong team full of prominent players with tremendous potential, so the game will be difficult for them and we must be adequately prepared for it. I hope we can put up a strong show, especially since we are looking forward to get more points in order to secure a good ranking in the league table away from the danger zone,” he added.
As for Duhail, under French coach Christophe Galtier, they are in a difficult situation with their continued negative results and successive losses, the last of which was a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Al Wakrah.
Galtier said on Thursday that individual mistakes has proved costly for Duhail. “It is good for us to focus on our next competitors, but before that we must focus on ourselves above all and the way we perform on the field, especially avoiding mistakes that cost us a lot in this difficult situation that we are going through. For me, the players or the fans, we must remain fully focused to change the situation,” the Frenchman said.
“The loss against Wakrah was painful for us, especially since the team succeeded in providing a good performance in the first half of the match and were the most dominating on the field. I spoke with the players after the recent loss and said that there are important things that we do on the field, and there are individual mistakes that are repeated in matches. We must be realistic and have full concentration.”