Star-studded Al Rayyan, placed second in the QNB Stars League, take on Umm Salal today knowing the visitors could spring a surprise in the round 10 clash at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium.
Al Rayyan coach Michael Laudrup, who has guided the team to eight wins out of nine games so far, is not taking fifth-placed Umm Salal - coached by Mahmoud Jaber - as light opponents.
“Umm Salal are a physically strong side. I expect a tough game as they are capable of putting up a strong display. That they hadn’t won their last three games should make them go all out and create problems for us.” Laudrup said at a pre-match media conference.
“We expect them to make a strong statement while playing against us,” the popular Dane added.
“We’ve injury worries as a couple of our players — Ahmed Al Saadi and Sultan Al Kuwari — are out of action. But that’s OK. I always focus on the available players,” he warned.
“Our campaign thus far this season has been fantastic. We have won a total of 12 matches out of the 13 we played — eight in the QNB Stars League and all four in the QSL Cup,” Laudrup said of his team’s breathtaking form.
“In the league also, we’ve won all games, except the one against Al Duhail. We’re doing our best. There’s a big difference between Al Duhail and us. Most of their players are together for a few seasons, while we had some new players this season,” Laudrup pointed out.
It is worth mentioning that former national champions Al Rayyan have qualified for the semi-finals of the QSL Cup with four consecutive wins.
Umm Salal coach Jaber yesterday admitted his players are needed more match time under their belts.
“It’s a tough game, of course. We’ve prepared well, especially since we were held by basement side Qatar SC in the last game but we’re struggling in training because we didn’t get much time in between our last game and this one,” Jaber said yesterday.
“We played last Saturday and are again playing this Thursday. The players are tired,” he said.
“We did well against Qatar SC in the first 55 minutes, but faded afterwards. We never took any match for granted. However, it’s time we got back to our earlier position in the standings — top four. Some results go negative also because of certain things that may happen off the field.
“We hope the last two matches in the first phase will help us make a strong comeback into the tournament. We have excluded Yousef Sakour from the squad as we felt we need a real leader in the midfield. We’re thinking about his replacement. We may even consider a local player as reinforcement.
“Al Rayyan are a strong side that is getting many positive results. They’re just one point adrift of leaders Al Duhail,” he said. In another game at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium today, Al Gharafa host Al Arabi.
