Doha [Qatar], February 21: Umm Salal and Al Sailiya will meet in a crucial Week 16 match of the Doha Bank Stars League at the Grand Hamad Stadium on Friday at 9.30pm.
Both teams are looking to improve their positions in the standings and to steer clear of the relegation threat.
Al Sailiya, who beat Al Gharafa 1-0 in Week 15, enter the match being in ninth place with 15 points, three points ahead of their opponents while Umm Salal are in 11th place with 12 points. They would hope to capitalize on their recent 2-1 victory over Al Duhail by scoring a successive win.
Umm Salal coach Ruben Albes while speaking to the media ahead of their match against Al Sailiya, said,
"The match will be one of the toughest (for Umm Salal) this season. They are a strong and well-organized team with outstanding players, but we have the ability to close the gap between us and them.
"We aim to capitalize on the significant morale boost the players received after their strong performances against Al Duhail and Al Ahli. Victories bring more confidence and one win leads to another, so we are working to continue our positive results," stressed Albes.
Umm Salal player Antonio Mance said, "This match is worth six points because it is against a direct competitor, so we will enter it with a winning mentality. We study all opponents thoroughly and work to implement the coach's instructions to achieve a positive result."
Al Sailiya's coach Mirghani Al Zain said his team will go in with a high morale and team spirit.
"First, we congratulate everyone on the arrival of the Holy month of Ramadan. The match will take place in the early days of Ramadan, but we do not expect it to have a significant impact on the players. Our preparations are proceeding normally and the team spirit will be reflected on the pitch.
"There are four or five players suffering from injuries, but the current group is ready and the young players are available to give their best performance on the field. The match will be difficult against a team that is competing with us for the main objective this season and the points difference is close. We are striving to achieve victory in order to improve the team's position in the standings," said Mirghani.
Al Sailiya player Hussain Bahzad said, "The players are ready with enthusiasm to achieve a positive result. We have great opportunities if we play with team spirit. Everyone is ready and motivated. Points are very important at this time and our goal is not to drop any points."
Among the other games on Friday, Al Duhail will take on Ali Arabi at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium while Al Shahania will play Qatar SC at the Al Khor Stadium.
Al Arabi are currently in fifth place with 23 points, while Al Duhail are eighth with 20 points. Both teams had lost in the last round and will be looking to make amends. While Al Duhail lost 1-2 to Umm Salal, Al Arabi went down by a similar scoreline to Al Shamal.
Al Arabi would be aiming to bounce back to winning ways and move into the top four - being only two points away from Al Rayyan.
Meanwhile, Al Duhail would look to shrug off their recent AFC Champions League Elite loss to Iraq's Al Shorta. Despite the loss, The Red Knights qualified for the Round of 16 based on their previous league-stage results.
Al Shahania, who are bottom-placed in 12th place with 11 points, enter the match against Qatar SC hoping to compensate for their losses in the last two rounds against Al Wakrah and Al Sadd.
Qatar SC, who occupy seventh place with 21 points, will go into the clash with a high morale having picked up four points in their last two rounds, following a 3-1 victory over Al Ahli and a thrilling 3-3 draw with Al Rayyan.
Qatar SC would seek to continue their strong performances and look to get the three valuable points from this game.
Qatar Stars League: Week 16 Fixtures (9.30pm kick-offs)
Friday: Al Shahania vs Qatar SC (at Al Khor Stadium); Al Sailiya vs Umm Salal (at Grand Hamad Stadium).
Saturday: Al Duhail vs Al Arabi (at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium)
SundaycTypeface:> Al Rayyan vs Al Ahli (at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium); Al Wakrah vs Al Sadd (at Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium); Al Gharafa vs Al Shamal (at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium).
Source: Qatar Tribune
