Al Sadd's Abdelkarim Hassan and Boualem Khoukhi during a training session yesterday.
Doha: Al Sadd are expecting a tough challenge from an in-form Al Wakrah as the two sides meet in the postponed Round 11 tie of the QNB Stars League (QSL) today.
The match, which was scheduled on December 30, was postponed as many Al Wakrah players were infected with coronavirus.
Al Sadd are on top of the table with 37 points, which they accumulated from 12 wins and one draw from 13 matches.
Al Wakrah have also been impressive as they are third in the table with 28 points from eight wins and four draws. They defeated Al Duhail 4-0 in the previous round on January 22.
Ahead of the match, Al Sadd coach Javi Gracia hailed Al Wakrah as one of the best QSL sides, saying his team will have to work hard for a win.
“We know that we will play against a team which is at its best with very good statistics, both defensively and offensively,” Gracia told a pre-match press conference yesterday.
“Al Wakrah are very organised team and defends well. They play with high pressure and in a dangerous way and close the spaces. And they do not allow the opponents many chances and do not concede many goals, so we have to be ready to do our best,” the Spaniard added.
Gracia also expressed his delight on return of Andre Ayew and Baghdad Bounedjah, who played in the Africa Cup of Nations, and the return of Pedro Miguel and Boualem Khoukhi from injuries.
“I am always happy to have more players in the team, some of them have come back from injuries after a long time, like Pedro, and we have two other players coming back from the Africa Cup of Nations. Now we have more options, but this is not only for us but for the other teams as well and they are in same situation as we are,” he said.
Meanwhile, Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez was confident of a good performance against the defending champions, today.
“All our players are fully prepared for this important match and we will try to give off our best against the best team in the league this season. I assure that the mentality of the players is good to appear in the best possible way,” said Lopez.
“We do not have the services of three important players for this match (Omid Ebrahimi, Ahmed Fadel and Gelson Dala), but we have other distinguished players in the team. And I will not make excuses for this and will do everything in my power to help the team achieve victory,” he said.
“The morale of the team is very good. When the team wins, everything is in the best condition and everyone is happy, but so far the season is not over and we have very important matches remaining. Therefore, we strive to continue the journey with the same mentality, as we always seek to win,” said Marquez.
