Doha: Lekhwiya coach Eric Gerets will be without striker Sebastian Soria and defenders Madjid Bougherra and Kingambo Tresor for today’s meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq as the Qatari side look to secure a place in the last 16 of the AFC Champions League (ACL) for the first time.
Soria, who has scored four goals in the competition this season, was sent-off last week as Group B leaders Lekhwiya suffered a 3-1 defeat by Al Shabab Al Arabi.
With Algeria international Bougherra and fellow defender Tresor also sidelined, Gerets will be forced into changes with Lekhwiya needing to avoid defeat to secure their qualification regardless of the result in Tashkent as Pakhtakor entertain Al Shabab Al Arabi with all four teams in Group B still in the hunt for a place. “The players are focused on the match and they want to remain at the top of the group. We must get the three points and make a good comeback after losing in the previous match against Al Shabab Al Arabi which was a surprising defeat,” said Gerets.
“We haven’t had enough time to prepare and we will be missing a key player in the name of Sebastian Soria, however, we have ambition to qualify and hopefully we can win the match in order to advance to the knockout stage,” added the Belgian coach yesterday.
QNA
