Doha: Al Rayyan face Al Ahli in the opening match of the fourth round of the Ooredoo Cup tournament at the Al Arabi Stadium today. The Group B fixture will kick off at 17:15.
Al Rayyan could open their account only in the last round following their 1-1 draw with Al Arabi. The Lions are fourth in the group with one point. They have the same number of point and goal difference (-5) as Umm Salal, but are placed better by virtue of having scored more number of goals (2 as against Umm Salal’s 1).
Al Rayyan had lost 1-4 to Al Kharaitiyat and 0-2 to Al Gharafa in Round 1 and 2 respectively.
Al Ahli are lying at the bottom of Group B with one point that they earned from their 1-1 draw with Umm Salal in Round 3. The Brigadiers have the same number of point as Al Rayyan and Umm Salal, but found themselves bottom-placed on goal difference (-6 as against -5 of both Al Rayyan and Umm Salal).
Al Ahli had lost 1-5 to Al Arabi and 0-2 to Al Kharaitiyat in Round 1 and 2 respectively.
Both Al Rayyan and Al Ahli are winless, but they still have chances of reaching the knockout quarter-finals.
Later, at the same venue, Al Gharafa will face Al Arabi at 19:30.
Al Gharafa are the only team in the tournament with an all-win record and have the most number of points so far. The Cheetahs are topping the group with nine points.
They defeated Umm Salal and Al Rayyan by an identical 2-0 margin in the first two rounds, and beat Al Kharaitiyat 3-1 in Round 3.
Al Arabi are also on a high, having qualified for the Amir Cup final after a gap of long 26 years. The Dream Team defeated Al Markhiya 2-0 in the first semifinal played on 30th October and will face Al Sadd in the final on 18th December. The Wolves beat Al Duhail 4-1 in the other semifinal.
Al Arabi are placed second in Group B with seven points. They had beaten Al Ahli 5-1 and Umm Salal 3-0 before being held 1-1 by Al Rayyan in Round 3.
Meanwhile, at Al Khor Stadium, Al Kharaitiyat and Umm Salal will play in their fourth Group match.
Al Kharaitiyat are currently third in the group with six points, behind Al Gharafa (nine points) and Al Arabi (seven points), that they have from their victories over Al Rayyan (4-1) and Al Ahli (2-0) in the first two rounds.
However, Al Kharaitiyat suffered a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Al Gharafa in Round 4. So The Thunders will be keen to get back on the winning path when they cross swords with Umm Salal.
Umm Salal are placed fifth in Group B with only a point they collected from their 1-1 draw with Al Ahli in Round 3. The Orange Fortress had lost 0-2 to Al Gharafa in Round 1 and then 0-3 to Al Arabi.
Al Rayyan, Umm Salal and Al Ahli are all on one point, but Al Rayyan are placed ahead of Umm Salal by virtue of having scored more number of goals (2 as against Umm Salal’s 1) after both teams had same goal difference (-5). Al Ahli were pushed behind with a goal difference of -6.
Umm Salal, in their bid to keep their knockout hopes alive, will surely give Al Kharaitiyat a tough fight.
