Fifth placed Al Shamal will look to return to winning ways when they take on ninth placed Lusail in the Qatar Stars League at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday.
Al Shamal coach David Prats expects a tough test against a Lusail side he rates highly, but the Spaniard is determined to secure three points and get his team back on track in the league.
"We are expecting a tough match against a very good team that has outstanding players, plays in a distinctive way, and has an identity on the field,” Prats said at the pre-match press conference.
"Lusail is one of the teams I like in the Qatari league this season because their performance model is very good, but all of that does not prevent us from going into the match with only one goal, which is to win and collect the three points in order to get back to winning ways.”
Al Shamal are keen to put their recent league setback against Al Duhail behind them after suffering a difficult defeat. Prats, however, believes his team showed encouraging signs in their subsequent AFC Champions League campaign against Iran’s Tractor Sazi.
"We are very excited about the opportunity to return to winning ways, especially after the difficult moments we experienced in our last league match against Al Duhail,” he said.
"We succeeded in getting back on track after the Al Duhail match in the league, by facing Tractor of Iran in the AFC Champions League, during which we performed very well, and what we want is to continue in the same direction.”
Lusail, meanwhile, will be eager to respond after their 1-0 defeat to Al Shahania in the previous round. Coach Emanuel Mesquita said his players had prepared well for the encounter and were determined to claim maximum points.
"We are preparing for the upcoming Al Shamal match with high focus, and we have a strong desire to secure the three points and build on the continuous work the players have been putting in during training and matches,” Mesquita said.
"We have worked well this week, focusing on the technical and tactical aspects we need for this encounter. The players have shown great commitment during training sessions, and they are fully prepared to face Al Shamal in the next round.”
Mesquita acknowledged the quality of their opponents and anticipated a closely contested match, with Lusail aiming to deliver a strong performance and improve their position in the standings.
"The North is an organized team with outstanding players, and we expect a tough and difficult match for both teams. Our goal is to deliver a good performance on the field and come out with a positive result that strengthens our position in the standings,” he said.
Meanwhile, bottom-placed Al Sailiya will seek their first points of the season when they face Qatar SC on Saturday.
Al Sailiya have lost all five of their matches and sit 12th in the standings without a point. Coach Mirghani al-Zein said the team needed to unite and rebuild confidence after a difficult run of results.
He stressed that the priority was to lift the players' spirits, address their frustration and restore the focus required to turn their season around.
Al-Zein expects a challenging encounter against Qatar SC, adding that their recent results do not reflect the true strength of the opposition.
Qatar SC coach Rashid al-Kubaisi, for his part, is targeting victory and the three points. He expressed confidence in his players' ability to deliver, while acknowledging that the team had faced difficult circumstances in recent weeks.