Leaders Duhail look to get back to winning ways

Al Duhail will be hoping to get back to winning ways, when the leaders take on Qatar SC in the QNB Stars League today.  Duhail were held to a 2-2 draw by Al Rayyan last week but still lead the table with 35 points, three more than second-placed Al Sadd. The Red Knights, who have a game in hand (against Al Sadd rescheduled from Week 9 due to AFC Champions League commitment), have the most number of victories to their credit. Duhail are the only unbeaten side in the 12-team competition. Interestingly, they were held goalless by Al Rayyan in the first leg and those were the only occasions when they dropped points.  Sadd had cut Al Duhail’s lead on top from five to three points after the Week 14 action, so the latter will be keen to win in order to remain as strong contenders for the title.Ahead of the game, Al Duhail coach Nabil Maaloul said nothing less than a victory will satisfy his team. “There was only a short period between our game against Al Rayyan and Qatar SC. Certainly, the confrontation will not be easy, especially as Qatar SC were able to give us a tough fight in the first leg,” Maaloul said. “Youngsters are playing big games despite the numerical shortage. I am happy with the performance they showed in the game against Al Rayyan. I believe that the team was able to put up its best display and we must continue with the same discipline,” he added. Meanwhile, Qatar SC brought Al Sailiya’s good run to an end by scoring a 1-0 victory over them in the last round. Qatar SC are placed 10th with 14 points as last week’s win over Sailiya helped them stay clear of the danger zone.Meanwhile, Al Sadd will in action later in the night as they are away at Al Arabi stadium to face Al Shahania. The Wolves have the most number of wins, after Duhail and would like to keep the pace with their fierce rivals before the much-anticipated clash between the two.Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira said his team will not take Shahania lightly. “Everyone knows that we will face a team that is weaker than us on paper, but they have proved to be a strong team and can make surprises. This match comes before our most important game against Al Duhail, the rescheduled game from the ninth week,” said Ferreira.“Al Sadd are a big team. We are determined to keep winning, we need to win to make ourselves strong contenders for the title. We are ready to face Al Shahania. Our players are professional. They are strong mentally too and I do not think that they will be preoccupied with the Al Duhail match when they take on Al Shahania. Xavi (Hernandez) is ready and may play against Al Shahania as he has recovered from his injury,” added Ferreira.Al Shahania will look to collect as many points as possible even though they are somewhat safe from the relegation threat. The promoted side has been doing well under Spanish coach Jose Murcia. Murcia said nothing is impossible in football as he aimed for a shock win over Sadd. “We know the difficulty of facing Al Sadd, one of the best teams around. They are coming from a great victory, but we have trust in our players. We will make every effort to get points,” he said“Nothing is impossible in football, we always play for victory and we will play against Al Sadd with the aim of collecting three points. As I said, we respect Al Sadd as a team. We are an ambitious team and want to create our own history. We will play with all our strength and that gives us great confidence. I expect the game to be difficult. Victory will further boost our confidence,” Murcia added.“We are staying confident although Al Sadd have a large group of outstanding players. We will not surrender meekly. We do not think about losing or our opponents, but we have to think about our team. If we want to win, we have to play with the ambition to win and our team is better today than before,” said Murcia.FixturesToday: Al Duhail vs Qatar SC at 4pm.  Al Shahania vs Al Sadd at 6:30pm. Tomorrow:  Al Khor vs Al Sailiya at 4pm; Umm Salal vs Al Arabi at 6:30pm