Al Duhail coach Rui Faria and Al Arabi coach Heimir Hallgrimsson
Al Duhail are aiming to register their second consecutive win but they face a spirited Al Arabi side, who are eyeing an aggressive display as both sides target full points in their second round clash at the QNB Stars League (QSL), today at Al Janoub Stadium.
Al Duhail, champions in 2017-2018 season and one of the leading title contenders to lift the ‘Falcon Shield’, had to rally to overcome Qatar SC 2-1 in their opening game last week. Al Arabi got off to an impressive start, outclassing Al Ahli 3-1 in their first round clash.
Al Duhail coach Rui Faria admitted Al Arabi will be a tough nut to crack as his team look for a win in today’s clash, set to kick off at 7:20pm.
“We face a tough task against a team that is well organised and has technical staff capable of doing a great job,” Faria said at a pre-match press conference yesterday.
“They’ve players who can quickly reach the opponents’ goal. We’ll focus on what we can do on the pitch,” he added.
Faria hoped his team will put a better show in absence of key players like Luis Martin, Assim Madibo and Mohammed Moussa.
“The absence of some key players will affect any team and that’s what happened to us in our game against Qatar SC. The emergence of new players is definitely a positive sign, but that alone won’t compensate for seniors’ absence.
“We made good efforts and put up a strong performance. I was satisfied with the performance, but if we were able to score goals from the opportunities that we had, there would’ve been another scenario,” he said.
Al Arabi coach Heimir Hallgrimsson was banking on his team’s attack as his team prepares for a ‘difficult challenge’.
“Al Duhail consist of outstanding players even though they didn’t start well this season. It’s going to be difficult challenge. For us, the most important thing is not to make mistakes that cause losses,” said Hallgrimsson.
“For me, it’s important to play according to the team’s capabilities, we’ve good attacking players who deal well with high balls, so we used this technique in the previous game and we succeeded in that,” said Hallgrimsson.
Today’s other match will be played between Al Wakrah and Qatar SC at Al Sadd Stadium.
The reigning champions Al Sadd lead the standings while Al Gharafa, Al Arabi and Al Duhail are occupying the next three spots respectively.
