After a four-month forced break due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Al Duhail will hope to continue their charge for the QNB Stars League title, when the championship resumes today.
Duhail, who hold a four-point advantage over Al Rayyan, need to win four out of their remaining five matches to wrap up the title, while not relying on any other results to go their way. For Rayyan though, they would be wishing Duhail would drop points, while they themselves go on a winning run.
Before Duhail kick off their campaign against 11th-placed Umm Salal tomorrow at the Janoub Stadium, Rayyan can throw down the gauntlet to their rivals with a win over Qatar Sports Club at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium today.
Rayyan coach Diego Aguirre said his team would need to win all their matches, if they have to keep their title chances alive. “On winning the title… Why not? But it is not a good time to talk about this matter. We must know that Al Duhail are strong competitors and we are required to win all points in the five games and after that I can answer about the chances of Al Rayyan,” Aguirre said yesterday.
“Our focus is on the game against Qatar SC. We have other confrontations, but if we lose against Qatar SC, we will lose the opportunity to compete for the title, so everyone is ready to provide a big match and I trust all my players. We must be focused and give off our best. We have trained well during the break. This moment is not for talking about the past. We must concentrate on the upcoming matches and the first is against Qatar SC,” he added.
The Lions will be without their former skipper Rodrigo Tabata, whose contract with the club has ended by mutual consent. Their fortunes will depend on Algerian midfielder Yacine Brahimi, Ivorian forward Yohan Boli, Sebastian Soria and Abdulrahman al-Harazi. Rayyan also have Hamed Ismail back in their ranks, with the midfielder joining on loan from Al Sadd till the end of this season.
“(Rodrigo) Tabata is one of the best players, but he chose not to continue with us. I respect his decision and wish him success. Hamed Ismail, I know him because I trained him for several years. He is a good player and he has great experience, especially with the Qatar national team, and it is certain that he will be a good addition to Al Rayyan,” said Aguirre.
Rayyan had thrashed Qatar SC 5-0 in the first leg, and the latter’s coach Wesam Rizik will be hoping his team won’t suffer the same fate. Qatar SC are ninth in the table and are not completely safe from the relegation threat, but their performances have improved after ex-Qatar international midfielder Rizik took over.
“The competition to avoid relegation is tough now, with many teams involved in it. So collecting points is very important and all teams will get stronger on the field,” said Rizik yesterday. “Our next game is against a big team. Al Rayyan are competing for the title and they are second in the table. From our side, we are ready for this tough match. We played two friendly games and were satisfied with the performance. We hope we will be good on the field,” he added.
Meanwhile, for Walid Regragui’s Duhail, it will be a tricky road to the finish line. The leaders can expect a relatively easier game against Umm Salal tomorrow but face Al Gharafa in the 19th round and Al Sadd in the 20th. Any slip up in those matches could prove costly for them.
Duhail will be without Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic, who left the club by mutual consent. The Red Knights have recruited Brazilian Dudu, who is ineligible to play for them this season. But they have Edmilson, Mehdi Benatia and Youssef Msakni, who will look to fire their team towards the title.
Reigning champions Al Sadd are 10 points behind Duhail and only a miracle could see them retain the title. Xavi Hernandez’s side face Al Khor at home tomorrow. The Spanish midfield great Xavi, who signed a one-year contract extension recently, will be hoping his players can go on a winning run, while Duhail and Rayyan falter big time.
Meanwhile, the QNB Stars League resumption will kick-off with Al Gharafa taking on Al Arabi at 4:45pm at Al Janoub Stadium. Al Gharafa are fourth in the standings, four points more than their closest challengers and fifth-placed side Al Arabi.
Al Gharafa coach Slavisa Jokanovic called the Arabi game a very important one. “All matches will be crucial. After facing Al Arabi, we will have four other games. But Al Arabi match has great importance and can be seen as a six-point game, because the opponents are behind us in the fifth position with 24 points in the table. I hope we will be at our best and give our maximum efforts to win,” Jokanovic said.
Fixtures
Today: Al Gharafa vs Al Arabi (16:45, Al Janoub Stadium), Qatar SC vs Al Rayyan (19:00, Al Sadd Stadium)
Tomorrow: Al Duhail vs Umm Salal (16:45, Al Janoub Stadium), Al Sadd vs Al Khor (19:00, Al Sadd Stadium)
On Sunday: Al Wakrah vs Al Sailiya (16:45, Al Janoub Stadium) and Al Shahania vs Al Ahli (19:00, Al Sadd Stadium)
Al Rayyan players take part in a training session ahead of their QNB Stars League match against Qatar SC. (Twitter/AlrayyanSC)
