Al Kharaitiyat face uphill task against Al Rayyan

Al Kharaitiyat will face another stern test when they run into Al Rayyan in the QNB Stars League today at the Al Khor Stadium. Al Rayyan are fourth in the standings with 24 points. On the other hand, Kharaitiyat very much stare at relegation as they are lying at the rock bottom of the table with only three points (from the win they registered against Al Gharafa in the first leg). Rayyan are on a high after holding defending champions and table toppers Al Duhail to a 2-2 draw last week. Interestingly, Rayyan had held Duhail goalless in the first leg and those two were the only occasions when Duhail dropped points this season. It is vital for Rayyan not to drop points in their bid to finish among the top-four teams, as Al Ahli are breathing down their neck. Al Rayyan had beaten Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 in the first leg.Kharaitiyat’s Moroccan player Anwar Deba expected a difficult match. “It is going to be a tough game, but we are ready. We performed well in many matches, but were not successful. We hope to get the better of Al Rayyan and thus start the process of moving away from the relegation threat. We offered better levels than our rivals in some matches and lost narrowly. A total of 24 points are still up for grabs and we have the potential to do well,” he said. Al Rayyan’s Under-23 coach Gilson Souza hoped his players will carry on the momentum from Duhail match. “We played a good game against Duhail in the last round and got a valuable point. But this does not make us complacent ahead of the Al Kharaitiyat match because our players have a lot of experience,” he said “Kharaitiyat show a lot of fighting spirit and they are keen to wriggle out of precarious situation. We will face Kharaitiyat with all our strength and we will play to win.” Souza added.In another match today, Al Gharafa will host Al Ahli as the two teams eye top-four finish. Ahli are placed fifth with 23 points, while Gharafa are sixth with 18 points.Gharafa will be keen to put behind the disappointment of having suffered the biggest-margin defeat in the last round (1-8 against Al Sadd). That also dented a further blow to their hopes of finishing among the top four and thereby qualify for the Qatar Cup, just like they did last season.It may be recalled that Gharafa pipped Umm Salal to the fifth position in the last round in the 2017-18 season. Ahli, who played out a goalless draw with Umm Salal last week, will also be keen to win as that will bolster their chances of barging into the top-four bracket. Ahli are only one point adrift of fourth-placed Al Rayyan. Al Ahli are now unbeaten in seven matches, that included five victories, and they will be keen to extend their good run. Al Gharafa had beaten Al Ahli 4-0 in the first leg.Al Ahli coach Milan Macala said his team is trying to put pressure on rivals. “Our goal from the beginning of the season was to avoid relegation. Now that we are in safe zone, we are trying to put pressure on the competitors and we are seeking a top-four position,” he said“Al Gharafa are strong and fierce competitors though they lost to Al Sadd by a big margin in the last round. Our performance has improved in the recent times. We are unbeaten in seven matches. We won five of them and drew the rest. We hope to finish in a creditable position,” Macala added.Al Gharafa coach Christian Gourcuff hoped his players will bounce back from humiliating loss to Sadd. “It will not be easy for us against Al Ahli, especially since we are coming off a heavy loss to Al Sadd. Any match is worth only three points maximum, but the big-margin loss was a great shock for us. I hope to achieve a positive result which will help the team make a strong comeback,” he said.“I spoke to the players in the aftermath of our defeat to Al Sadd and tried to instil confidence in them. We also discussed how to make up for that in the game against Al Ahli. Our players Wesley Sneijder, Fahd al-Shammari, Almahdi Ali and Khalid Abdul Raouf are all nursing injuries. However, we still have the chance to reach the top four if we improve our performance by a few notches,” added Gourcuff. FixturesToday: Al Gharafa vs Al Ahli at 4pm;  Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Rayyan at 6:30pm Tomorrow: Al Duhail vs Qatar SC at 4pm. Al Shahania vs Al Sadd at 6:30pm. On Saturday: Al Khor vs Al Sailiya at 4pm; Umm Salal vs Al Arabi at 6:30pm