The Week 7 of the QNB Stars League will kick-off with two big clashes today. In the day’s opening match, Al Ahli will take on Al Duhail (5:50pm) at Al Ahli Stadium, while Qatar SC will host leaders Al Sadd (8pm) at Qatar SC Stadium.
Al Ahli face a daunting task against defending champions Al Duhail, whose coach Nabil Maaloul has said that they were targeting victory in all games if they were to stay in contention for the title.
Al Duhail are second behind Al Sadd on goal difference although they are also on 13 points. They both have a game in hand as their Week 5 matches were rescheduled due to their AFC Champions League quarter-final second-leg fixtures. Duhail will miss defender Murad Naji who received red car during their 4-2 victory over Al Gharafa in Week 6. 
Duhail coach Maaloul said: “We had only a short time to prepare for this game, so we focused on the players’ recovery as they put in extra efforts in the previous game against Al Gharafa after the red card to Naji. However, we will give off our best to achieve a positive result against Al Ahli,” he said yesterday.
The Tunisian was hoping his side will cut down on defensive errors. “All goals that we conceded so far were results of our own mistakes. We will try not to concede any goal against Al Ahli. I think winning by two goals without conceding any is better than winning by five goals and conceding two,” he said.
“We do not have any problem in attack. We have outstanding players in the midfield and attack. The problem is when we concede goals. We will try to rectify the mistakes made by our players. We respect our competitors and we do not fear any team. The most important thing is we have to win all games if we are to be in strong contention for the QNB Stars League title,” Maaloul added..
Al Ahli, who had lost 2-4 to Al Sailiya last week, will be desperate to make a turnaround in their fortunes. They have six points from two victories.
Ahli coach Milan Macala will once again be hampered by injuries to key players. “Every game is tough. Our preparations were difficult. We have to adopt our strategy from game to game. We had problems right from the beginning, mainly in the form of injuries to players,” said Macala.
“Striker Meshaal Abdulla and Barro Siddiqi cannot play this match. Meshaal is not well and Barro reported for training with high temperature on Tuesday. Even though Barro is a fast player, he has not played a match fully. I hope he regains his fitness soon. I will have to see who all are ready from our Under-23 squad to replace the injured players. I have already fielded some of them and they are coming good,” he added.
Defeating Duhail will be a tough task, Macala said. “Of course, Al Duhail are a strong side. They are at a disadvantage after exiting the AFC Champions League in the quarter-final stage. But they have depth in the squad. The way they beat Al Gharafa playing with 10 men (after Murad Naji saw the red card) was amazing. It will be very hard, but we hope we get full points,” noted Macala.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd will be in no mood for a let-up when they face Qatar SC. Al Sadd are in great form. 
They are leading the QNB Stars League table with 13 points and would not want to drop points as Al Duhail are breathing down their neck.
Sadd defeated Al Rayyan 5-0 in the Qatar Clasico, while Qatar SC were held goalless by Al Khor in Week 6. Al Sadd may get the services of injured goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari who was back in training.
Qatar SC, under caretaker coach Yousef al-Noobi, will badly need a victory as they have not tasted a win since their 3-1 verdict over Al Gharafa in Week 1.