While Portuguese Ferreira looks forward to continuing his superiority over Al Rayyan in recent times, Dane Laudrup will seek his first-ever win over Al Sadd as The Lions coach.
The ‘Qatar Clasico’ is sure to be a humdinger of a match even though Al Sadd hold an edge over Al Rayyan going by their current form. Last season, when the teams clashed against each other, Al Sadd had won in both phases. They clinched the first leg on the back of Baghdad Bounedjah’s hat-trick, and goals from Xavi Hernandez and Jugurtha Hamroun.
The Wolves extended their superiority in the second leg, winning 4-1, with Hamroun, Baghdad, Morteza Mohammed and Abdelkarim Hassan scoring, while Rodrigo Tabata gave Al Rayyan’s sole reply.
Al Sadd emerged as victorious when they met in the Qatar Cup and also the final of Emir’s Cup last season.
Ahead of the Clasico, Al Sadd are second in the table with 15 points, behind Al Duhail on goal difference, while Al Rayyan are third on 12 points. Al Sadd have an all-win record whereas Al Rayyan lost one game (to Al Duhail). Al Rayyan (15) have scored more goals than Al Sadd (14), but the latter conceded less goals (five) as against Al Rayyan’s nine.
Laudrup was hoping to reverse the trend of defeats and get one over their bitter rivals. “Of course, a big game and big date. We are keen to take on Al Sadd mainly because we want to reverse the trend of defeats against them in recent times. We must be playing at our best, with or without the ball. There’re some outstanding players on both sides and it must be nice for the players to showcase their skills and also for others to watch them in action,” said Laudrup.
The Rayyan coach called it a vital match, which will decide the outcome of the league positions. “From the league standings’ point of view too, this is an important match for us. We want to finish in the top four and play in the AFC Champions League. We’ve to be really, really strong on the field. If not, players like Xavi (Hernandez), Baghdad (Bounedjah), Jugurtha Hamroun and Hassan al-Haydous will kill us. We should be creating more opportunities to score,” Laudrup said.
“We’ve a strong squad. Even if we change three or four main players, the squad is still stronger this season. When the going is good, things are smooth in the team camp as well. We’ve already played seven games, including in the QSL Cup, and won six of them,” added the Dane.
Fixtures
Today: Al Markhiya vs Al Kharaitiyat Al Arabi Stadium 7:30pm
Tomorrow: Umm Salal vs Al Khor at Al Gharafa Stadium 5:20pm; Al Ahli vs Al Arabi at Al Ahli Stadium 5:20pm; Al Sadd vs Al Rayyan
at Al Sadd Stadium 7:30pm
On Saturday: Qatar SC vs Al Sailiya at Al Duhail Stadium 5:20pm; Al Duhail vs Al Gharafa Al Duhail Stadium 7:30pm
