Al Arabi face Al Rayyan in Round 3 clash of the 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup at the Al Arabi Stadium today. Al Arabi are leading the Group B with six points and an all-win record, having earlier beaten Al Ahli 5-1 and Al Kharaitiyat 2-0.
The Dream Team will be eager to put behind the disappointment of losing 0-4 to Al Sadd in the 2019-20 season Ooredoo Cup final in the weekend and continue their winning run when they face traditional rivals Al Rayyan, mainly because of both teams’ ardent fan following.
On the other hand, Al Rayyan have yet to open their account, along with Umm Salal and Al Ahli, and are fourth in Group B. The Lions have the same goal difference (-5) as Umm Salal, but are placed above The Orange Fortress having scored a goal, compared to the latter’s nil.
Al Rayyan, who had finished as runners-up in the 2019-20 season QNB Stars League with just one point behind Al Duhail, previously lost 1-4 to Al Kharaitiyat and 0-2 to Al Gharafa.
In another Group B match, Al Gharafa face Al Kharaitiyat at the Al Duhail Stadium. Al Gharafa, Al Kharaitiyat and Al Arabi all have six points with all-win records, but Al Arabi are placed first in the group on better goal difference (+7) as against Al Kharaitiyat’s +5 and Al Gharafa’s +4.
Gharafa defeated Umm Salal and Al Rayyan by an identical 2-0 margin, whereas Al Kharaitiyat beat Al Rayyan 4-1 and Al Ahli 2-0 in the previous rounds.
Al Gharafa have mostly been fielding Under-23 players such as Salah Zakaria, Ahmed Al Janahi, Abdullah Ali Saei and Andri Syahputra, along with mainstays like Saeed El Hajj, Tameem Al Muhaza, Yousef Muftah, Koo Ja-Cheol, Othman Al Yahri and Abdulghani Muneer.
On the other hand, Al Kharaitiyat have mostly been served by key players, such as Mohamed Osman, Abdulrahman Mohamed and Rashid Tiberkanine.
Meanwhile, Al Ahli face Umm Salal at the Al Arabi Stadium today.
Al Ahli, who are currently leading the 2020-21 QNB Stars League table with nine points and an all-win record, lost their matches in this season’s Ooredoo Cup to Al Arabi (1-5) and Al Kharaitiyat (0-2).