Al Arabi coach Younes Ali
Doha, Qatar: A heavily-armed Al Arabi outfit will be gunning to stop Al Rayyan’s winning run in the new Expo Stars League (ESL) season when the two teams face off in their Week 4 fixture at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium today. The action will kick off at 6 pm.
The showdown between the top placed team Al Rayyan and last year’s runners-up Al Arabi also marks the return of ESL action after a break during which the Qatar national team played friendlies against Kenya and Russia, while Al Sadd and Al Duhail kicked off their journeys in the 2023-2024 AFC Champions League.
Al Arabi will be looking to make use of their latest recruit, the Italian star Marco Verratti who is set to make his mark alongside former PSG teammate Rafinha Alcantara, while attacking duo of Omar Al Somah and Yousef Msakni are set to pose a huge threat to Al Rayyan.
Ahead of the key clash, Al Arabi coach Younes Ali said the best side will win. However, Ali highlighted the fact that the team, currently placed sixth with just three points from three draws, will “give off our best to perform well and achieve victory.”
“He (Verratti) is certainly a great addition to the team, a distinguished player who will perform with the rest of the group in a wonderful performance that we hope will result in achieving three points in the next match,” said Younes.
On the other hand, Al Rayyan recently secured the services of Moroccan sensation Achraf Bencharki who steps in as a replacement for compatriot Sofiane Boufal who is sidelined due to an injury.
Al Rayyan’s Portuguese tactician Leonardo Jardim is keen to maintain the winning run.
“In this match, we are relying on the players’ personality and mentality on the field to score the three points we are seeking,” Jardim said.
“This is a very important match and Al Rayyan’s preparations during the previous three weeks were less than the previous matches. We did not get the friendly matches that we were seeking during this period, and the team trained within three weeks with only 12 players,” he added.
Also today, Umm Salal will take on Al Ahli, while Qatar SC face Al Sadd in matches which kick off at 8:00pm.
