Al Sadd captain Hassan Al Haydos (foreground) with team-mates during a training session.
Doha: Umm Salal has punched above their weight this season and are in contention for a top four spot in the QNB Stars League. The Orange Fortress, under Wesam Rizik, were in outstanding form of late before their winning run came to an end against Qatar SC last week.
The defeat couldn’t have come at a worse time for sixth-placed Umm Salal as they run into reigning champions Al Sadd today at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Al Sadd are cruising towards retaining the title as they are on 43 points at the top of the table with an unbeaten record and two matches in hand. So Rizik is under no illusion what awaits his team against Al Sadd – for whom he played in 104 matches from 2004 to 2009.
“Facing Al Sadd will not be easy. Rather, it will be difficult and the team’s strongest game this season, so our preparations were strong, the former Qatar midfielder said yesterday.
“I hope that we will have a strong reaction that compensates for our loss to Al Sadd in the first leg. Al Sadd are a strong team and the strongest contenders for the league title because of their great potential and high-level players. Hence, the difficulty of the game, but my confidence in the players of Umm Salal is great and we hope to present a good match worthy of the team,” the Umm Salal coach added.
Meanwhile, there is no stopping Sadd, who set a new unbeaten record of 42 games after thrashing Al Gharafa 5-1.
Javi Gracia’s men have a seven-point cushion at the top and it’s only a matter of time before they wrap up the title. But the Wolves would not want to take Umm Salal lightly, with their star player Akram Afif missing the contest after receiving a two-match ban for his red card against Gharafa.
“Umm Salal are a good team, we can look at the team’s stats. They lost in only four matches, did not concede many goals and did not give the opponents many chances. They have a very good balance and we are ready to compete with all strength in order to win and get the three points,” said Gracia yesterday.
Meanwhile, second-placed Al Duhail take on Al Shamal, who are 10th in the standings. Duhail, who have tournament top scorer Michael Olunga in their ranks, beat Al Rayyan 4-0 and Al Shamal lost 2-4 to Al Arabi last week.
In another match today, Al Wakrah host Qatar SC at the Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium. Wakrah, placed third with 31 points from 17 matches, extended their good run by defeating Al Sailiya 2-1 last week. Qatar SC moved from ninth to eighth position in the table with their 2-1 victory over Umm Salal.
Round 18 fixtures
Today
4:40pm: Al Sadd vs Umm Salal at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
6:50pm: Al Duhail vs Al Shamal at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
6:50pm: Al Wakrah vs Qatar SC at Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium
Tomorrow
4:40pm: Al Sailiya vs Al Rayyan at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium
6:50pm: Al Arabi vs Al Ahli at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium
6:50pm: Al Khor vs Al Gharafa at Al Khor Stadium
