Al Rayyan players in action during a practice session.
Doha: Al Ahli who have emerged as a strong contender for the QNB Stars League title this season, face former champions Al Rayyan in the seventh round which kicks off tomorrow.
The match will get underway at 7:45pm at Al Ahli Stadium.
The high-profile encounter, probably the marquee clash of the week, will be an important one for Al Rayyan who found their winning momentum in the previous week to make it to the top four.
Last season’s runners-up Al Rayyan stormed back into the top-four by blanking Al Kharaitiyat 2-0 in the last round, with goals coming from Abdulaziz Hatem and Yohan Boli. Al Rayyan had recently made it to the semi-final of 2020-21 Ooredoo Cup by defeating Al Khor by a solitary goal.
They have 10 points in their account after being held 1-1 by Al Sailiya in the League's opener, but put that behind them by defeating Al Gharafa 3-1.
The Lions lost 0-1 to Qatar SC in Week 3, but put their campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over Al Wakrah in Week 4.
They could not sustain the momentum and lost 1-2 to defending champions Al Duhail in Week 5.
Al Ahli are second with 15 points. Their victories were against Al Wakrah (2-1), Al Arabi (2-0), Al Khor (1-0), Al Sailiya (2-0) and Umm Salal (2-0) in that order. The only time The Brigadiers, coached by Nebojsa Jovovic, dropped points was when they lost 1-7 to Al Sadd.
Al Ahli have in their ranks players of caliber, such as Nabil El Zhar, who scored both their goals against Umm Salal, Abdulrasheed Ibrahim and Hernan Perez.
In other matches tomorrow, Al Sailiya face Al Wakrah while Qatar SC host Al Arabi.
The Al Sailiya-Al Wakrah match will kick off at 17:30 at the Al Ahli Stadium. Al Sailiya and Al Wakrah had dropped points in Week 6, so both teams, placed in the middle of the table, will be keen to win
Al Sailiya are sixth with eight points. The Peregrines have two victories to their credit (2-0 over Al Kharaitiyat and 4-2 over Al Gharafa).
Al Sailiya, under the tutelage of Sami Trabelsi, had held last season’s runners-up Al Rayyan to a creditable 1-1 draw in their opener, but lost 1-5 to Al Sadd and 0-2 to Al Ahli.
Al Sailiya, who had recently reached the semifinals of 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup by edging Al Arabi in sudden death, played out a goalless draw with Al Khor in the last round.
Al Wakrah are seventh with seven points. The Blue Wave, coached by Spaniard Marquez Lopez, won two matches (1-0 over holders Al Duhail and 2-0 over Umm Salal). They lost three games (1-2 against Al Ahli, 0-1 against Al Rayyan and 0-1 against Qatar SC in the last round).
Al Wakrah’s other point came from their 2-2 draw with Al Arabi.
Al Wakrah too had progressed to the semifinals of 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup by beating Al Kharaitiyat in tie-breaker recently.
