Al Rayyan players train in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Al Rayyan will face a tough Al Hilal side with head coach Nicolas Cordova is hoping for a good show from his side in the top of the table AFC Champions League Group A clash at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Four wins and a draw have placed Al Hilal at the top of the standings with 13 points, with Al Rayyan three behind and needing victory to have a good chance of qualifying for the Round of 16.
While Al Hilal easily qualified for the Round of 16, Al Rayyan need to defeat them with a 4-0 winning margin securing the Qatar side top spot.
“We’re not expecting an easy match against the best team in the group,” Cordova said yesterday. “But we’re looking forward to getting a positive result that will push us into the next round. So far our preparations have gone well and we want the players to be focused for the final game.
“We know that our qualification also depends on how the other teams fare but we are not thinking about what happens elsewhere. We can’t be affected and will need to be focused on ourselves. Playing against Hilal again is going to be totally different this time. We know we lost in the last outing. We are familiar with their style of play but we also have our own strengths. If scoring goals from set-pieces is our secret weapon, then so be it. The most important thing is victory tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Moussa Marega was confident Al Hilal will defeat Al Rayyan in the match.
Marega, who has featured in three matches for Al Hilal, said the defending champions will bounce back with a win after dropping points against Sharjah on Matchday Five.
“We will be playing our last group stage match against Al Rayyan and it won’t be an easy encounter considering that they have still not qualified for the knockout stage,” said Marega.
“We certainly have a good chance of winning. We are confident we can seal first place in the group and make the Al Hilal fans happy. That’s our aim tomorrow.
“The last game against Sharjah, we came back to draw 2-2. It shows what our team is capable of but I wasn’t satisfied with my performance. It was unfortunate I couldn’t score with the chances I had. Since the head coach (Ramon Diaz) joined, we have been winning most of our matches. The draw should motivate us to perform even better.”
