Cordova confident Rayyan can finish second in group

Head coach Nicolas Cordova is confident his Al Rayyan side can cement second place in Group A of the AFC Champions League with victory over Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh today. Al Rayyan have seven points from four matches and trail group leaders Al Hilal SFC by five, while Istiklol are bottom with no points to show.
The Qatari side came back from a goal down to defeat a plucky Istiklol 3-2 in the opener and another victory against the Tajikistan outfit will put Cordova’s men in the driver’s seat to claim a top two finish in Group A.
“We’ve played several rounds of AFC Champions League football and we now have just two matches left to play,” said Cordova. “The last match against Sharjah was difficult but we are looking forward to our next match against Istiklol. The preparations for the game have been good and the players are ready to face them.
“We were extremely happy that we defeated Sharjah on Matchday Four. It was an important victory for us as it increased our chances of qualifying into the next round. We just want to keep this winning momentum going for the remaining two matches of the group stage.”
“We’re five points behind Al Hilal and although we are not discounting our chances, we believe Al Hilal are in a stronger position to finish top of the group.  We must remain focused now and concentrate on winning our next match. The results elsewhere don’t matter as that is out of our hands,” Cordova added.
Rayyan will be without their Colombian star James Rodriguez, who was ruled out of action for three weeks after injuring his anterior muscle of the left leg.
Four defeats from as many matches have left Istiklol out of contention but pride is at stake with head coach Vitaliy Levchenko outlining his desire to win against Al Rayyan.
“The players have been preparing well for Al Rayyan,” said Levchenko. “We know that we are out of the competition so tomorrow we will fight to win for the fans and for the pride of the club.”
“We know that the fans want us to be more attacking minded. It may be good for entertainment but not so much for us. We will need to maintain our defensive composure and do the best we can against the Qatari side. Every time we go on the field, it is with a winning mentality. What’s important is that we make no mistakes against Al Rayyan and try to win some points tomorrow.”