Sebastian Soria
DOHA: The QNB Stars League (QSL) resumes tomorrow with the clash between former champions Al Rayyan and star-studded Al Gharafa highlighting this week’s Round 9 matches.
After a shock defeat to Al Khor in the previous round, Al Rayyan are desperate to return to winning ways in order to get back in contention for the title.
‘The Lions’ are placed 4th in the standings with 14 points and a win over Al Gharafa will definitely help them regain confidence.
However, it will be a tough task for Al Rayyan in tomorrow’s game at Al Sadd Stadium as Al Gharara will be coming into the game with confidence after a commanding 3-0 victory over Al Arabi in their last QSL match.
‘The Cheetahs’, who are 7th with 10 points, too are seeking a victory to improve their rankings.
Al Rayyan’s players Ibrahim Masoud admitted Al Gharafa, who may see a return of their playmaker Wesley Sneijder from injury, are difficult opponents.
“It will be a tough match especially since Al Gharafa are in great form having defeated Al Arabi in the last round,” Masoud said at a pre-match press conference yesterday.
“But we must collect three points as they are very important to us after a defeat against Al Khor.”
He said Al Rayyan, who got a new coach in Bulent Uygun following the exit of Argentinian Rodolfo, was hoping for a reverse in fortunes.
“As a player, I have to do my best. We have some big players, but I will strive hard to gain the confidence of our coach.
“We cannot say now in which position we would finish this season, but we are going to compete for the best position,” said Masoud.
Meanwhile, Al Gharafa coach Christian Gourcuff urged his players to continue winning form in what has been dubbed as Match-of-the-Week.
“We are eager to build on our victory over Al Arabi in the last round. We were without a number of our players during the break. Yet, we will try to win,” said Gourcuff.
“We know that the game is important and we are looking for a positive result. It is important for me to put up a consistent performance throughout the game,” he said.
He said he was yet to make a decision on Sneijder’s return.
“Sneijder has begun training with the rest of the players as he is recovering from an injury. We will wait until the last moment before taking a decision on whether to field Schneider or not. Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi is proving his worth,” said the coach.
Al Rayyan’s charge will be led by Sebastian Soria, Lucca Borges and captain Rodrigo Tabata.
Al Gharafa have the likes of Mehdi Taremi, Ahmed Alaaeldin and Vladimir Weiss.
