The four heavyweights of the QNB Stars League will be in action today, with leaders Al Duhail taking on second-placed Al Sadd, while Al Gharafa hosts Al Rayyan in the Week 19 fixtures. The game between Duhail and Sadd assumes much significance as the winners will most likely become the champions this season. Duhail are leading the table with 48 points, followed by Sadd on 46. 
Both the teams are coming off after a thumping win their last fixtures. Duhail defeated Al Khor 4-0, while Al Sadd outplayed Al Ahli 5-0 last week.
Duhail, thought, start as the favourites considering their outstanding form and the fact that Al Sadd will be without forward Hassan al-Haydous and Iranian central defender Morteza Mohamed, both ruled out with injuries.
Morteza, who sustained a muscle injury in their game against Al Ahli, has had a good season and will be out of action for three weeks.
Duhail had won 4-2 in the first phase and will be keen to assert their supremacy over The Wolves, who on their part will be eager to lift the league shield which they last did in the 2012-13 season. Sadd are the side that has won the most league titles.
Al Duhail and Al Sadd have made a strong start in the AFC Champions League as well, winning both their matches. Ahead of the match, Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi conceded that today’s match will decide the destiny of bot the teams.
“The game between two big teams that occupy the first two positions in the table is significant as the outcome will more or less decide who will win the championship,” Belmadi said yesterday.
“Everyone thinks that the winners of this match will win the league shield, but there are games remaining for the two teams. We will go into the match in a better position because we are better placed,” he added.
Duhail are unbeaten in the league, a point Belmadi emphasised. “We deserve to be crowned because we have not lost any game and we had beaten Al Sadd in the first phase. However, we must prove that we deserve this title and we will be at our best. If they want to beat us, they must be stronger than us. We have perhaps the best attack line in Asia according to the number of goals we have scored and we try to rectify our mistakes after every match. We are aware of Al Sadd’s offensive ability,” he said.
“We will be disappointed if we lose the league title as we have had an excellent season. Right now, our priority is the Al Sadd game. After that, we will think about the AFC Champions League,” added Belmadi.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira declared Duhail as the strong favourites. “The team that wins this match should win the league shield. Duhail are the strong favourites to win because they had an extra day’s rest. And, also because they had won the title last year, whereas we had not been successful in the league for a few seasons now,” Ferreira said.
“One team cannot win the title all the time and we are capable of doing it this time. Al Duhail have the best players, good coach and the best attack line, but all those advantages will end one day. Our match with Al Duhail is one of the easiest games for the coach because he will not need to motivate players who realise its importance. I expect it to be a fun match because it will be played between two teams that are aggressive,” he added.
Ferreira was not worried by the absence of al-Haydous and Morteza for today’s match. “The absence of Hassan (al-Haydous) and Morteza Mohamed due to injuries will not affect us in a big way. We have never played a game with full strength this season and we will play with the available players,” he said. 

Al Gharafa vs Al Rayyan
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan, on 39 points, will look to consolidate their third position when they travel to Al Gharafa, who have 26 points.
Al Rayyan will also look to build on their 4-0 win over Qatar SC that they achieved after a two-match winless run. Al Gharafa too have reasons for joy after the Qatar Football Association on Wednesday overturned their 2-3 loss to bottom side Al Markhiya and awarded The Cheetahs a 3-0 verdict as The Oryxes had breached the rule regarding resident players by fielding six instead of the stipulated five. Al Gharafa are now placed fifth in the standings. Al Rayyan had won 3-2 in the first phase.
Al Rayyan coach Michael Laudrup said: “Al Gharafa are also playing in the AFC Champions League. They have done well, winning one of their matches in the premier continental competition, so it will be a good game. I would like to praise Qatar SC for putting up a good performance against us in the last round. Despite winning by four goals, they were strong opponents.”
“Al Gharafa is a big name in Qatar. I had expected them to gain more points since the beginning of the season. They lost the services of Vladimir Weiss, but Abdelaziz Hatem returned to them. They also took on board Wesley Schneider and Mehdi Taremi. They are also focusing on the AFC Champions League fixtures and they need to overcome us in order to be in the top four,” said Laudrup.