Al Sadd eager to take on Al Markhiya; Al Ahli get ready for Umm Salal
AL Sadd will take on Al Markhiya in Week 12 of the 20222023 season NB Stars League at the Al Sadd Stadium on Sunday at 4.35pm.
Al Sadd, the defending champions over the last two editions, have bounced back in great style with two successive wins - over Al Rayyan and Al Arabi in the atar Clasico and atar Derby respectively - and will be eager to take on Al Markhiya to continue their good run.
Speaking to the media on the eve of the match, Al Sadd coach Juan Manuel Lillo ‘Juanma’ said, “Al Markhiya are a team that has great strength and has been built very well. They were recently promoted from the second division, but have shown excellence.
“I think we played well in our opening match of the league against them. In that match, for example, we had approximately 35-40 minutes but were edged 4-3 .
“I am happy with the return of all our players who were with the national team. We have become stronger and we hope to continue working to achieve more victories,” he added.
Al Sadd player Akram Afif said, “Al Markhiya have advanced as a team. They achieved victory over us in the first round. We must prepare well for the match in order to avenge the loss.
“A very important match awaits us. We seek to return to
the competition for the league title. It will be a strong match and our goal is to win to make our club’s fans happy.”
For Al Markhiya, it will be a challenging test. They would, however, be inspired by the fact that they edged Al Sadd 4-3 in the first leg match played at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Al Sadd are placed sixth in the standings with 13 points and have two postponed games still to play. Al Markhiya are ninth with nine points and have three postponed matches remaining.
The return of their international stars have seen Al Sadd back at full force. Their professional stars the likes of Santi Cazorla, Andre Ayew and Jung Woo- oung, the return of Brazilian midfielder Guilherme Torres from injury, and the presence of stars Akram Afif, Hassan Al Haydous and Boualem Khoukhi and others make The Wolves a pack to beat.
Al Markhiya will, however, be aspiring to achieve a positive
result by repeating their previous act against the rivals. It won’t be easy though and coach Abdullah Mubarak will be counting on his foreign professionals, led by Iraqi Aymen Hussein, Omani Jameel Al ahmadi, Algerian Jugurtha Hamroun and Moroccan Driss Fettouhi to deliver the goods once again.
Abdullah Mubarak will also hope for injured Algerian defender Ayoub Ezzi to be fit in time.
The contest will be difficult for both teams. While Al Sadd will battle hard to turn the tables on Al Markhiya in their march up in the standings, the latter will put in their best to fetch more points to stay in contention for the top four places.
Al Ahli meet Umm Salal
In another Week 12 match, Al Ahli will take on mm Salal at the Al Ahli Stadium on Sunday at 6.45pm.
Al Ahli are fifth in the league table with 14 points, while mm Salal are 10th with seven points.
Al Ahli and Al Markhiya had played out a 2-2 draw in the last round.
Al Ahli had also edged mm Salal 1-0 in the opening round of the league at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Led by their Montenegrin coach Nebojsa Jovovic, Al Ahli will face a challenging contest against mm Salal, who are guided by coach Wesam Rizik. The teams’ battle will revolve around the coaches aiming to achieve the valuable three points and to gain a motivational push ahead of the start of the second division matches of the league this season.
mm Salal coach Wissam Rizk said: “I am waiting for us to play better and achieve a better result against Al Ahli. I expect my team to play strongly and restore the winning streak.
He added, “There is no pressure on the players. We will enter the match against Al Ahli with renewed determination. We shall be playing our Moroccan defender Adel Rahili and we hope that the fighting spirit will return. This is the most important now. Our match against Al Ahli will be a breakthrough for the team.”
mm Salal player Valentino uel, said, “The team has been seriously preparing for the match against Al Ahli, and we hope to be technically and physically ready. We lost our last match due to some mistakes which we shall not repeat.
The day’s third clash will see Al Gharafa play Al Sailiya at the Al Ahli Stadium at 4.35pm.