Gharafa face Sailiya in quest of top four spot

With five points separating Al Gharafa from the top four teams in the Qatar Stars League, Pedro Caixinha’s men will be looking to close that gap when they take on Al Sailiya in the Round 23 match today.
“We are aware of the importance of this game. We are also aware that we are 5 points away from the top four teams,” Caixinha said.
“The victory over Al Rayyan and the improvement in performance gives the players self-confidence to prepare well for the Al Sailiya game. It is a team which we know well as they defeated us in the first leg fixture.”
The Al Gharafa head coach indicated that his side is going through a good phase which they are trying to continue with.
Al Sailiya head coach Sami Trabelsi said his team was focussed on overcoming their defeat to Lekhwiya in their last match.
“We have to overcome and forget the defeat in the previous Round 22 to Lekhwiya. Al Gharafa is a good and disciplined team. They have many young players which makes them special.”
The Tunisian tactician pointed out that the team is still in danger, but there are have been discrepancies in the other teams’ performances too.
He added, “We have witnessed Al Sadd being knocked out of the AFC Champions League and Lekhwiya tied against the last team in the Saudi League. We are working on moving forward from this risky position.”
The match will be the second one at the Al Gharafa Stadium. Muaither will take on El Jaish in the first.
Muaither are suffering from a decline in their results, most recently losing to Umm Salal by a single goal.
The Falcons occupy 13th place with 16 points and they will be looking for an upset victory against a highly-motivated El Jaish side, who won their last game against Al Ahli.
The Soldiers are in fourth place with forty two points.
Muaither head coach Philip Birol said, “I have spoken to the players about the strong elements in El Jaish, the most prominent of which are players like Rashidov, Romarinho and Keita.”
Birol added, “We have presented our best and played a good game versus Umm Salal in the previous round but we lost. I am so proud of the players and their performance including Nasser Al Nasr.”
Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi said, “We have to benefit from the good performance against Al Ahli in order to improve even more in the coming game. The team is ready and have no missing players. The self-confidence will help us focus on the field of play for a positive result.”
At the Qatar Sports Club, Umm Salal will face a big challenge, and will have revenge on their mind against league leaders Al Sadd. Umm Salal are in 10th place with 23 points.
Umm Salal will be looking to compensate for the huge 8-0 loss in the first leg. Meanwhile, Al Sadd will be looking to cement their position at the top with another win following their comprehensive 4-0 win over Al Khor last week.