Al Duhail favourites, but Al Rayyan ready to pounce on any slipup

Doha, Qatar: For Al Duhail SC, the equation is simple. Beat Al Ahli in their final match on Friday and they can regain the Qatar Stars League title, which they have pretty much dominated for the last few years.

Challengers Al Rayyan need to beat Al Wakrah and hope that Duhail lose points against Ahli. If Duhail lose and Rayyan draw with Wakrah, both teams will finish on 49 points, and the title will be decided after a playoff. Duhail, however, will be hoping they win it tomorrow itself.    

Since the return of the league, after the Covid19-induced long break, Duhail’s form has been patchy. Walid Regragui’s team started with a draw against Umm Salal while they came back to winning ways against Al Gharafa before Al Sadd beat them to add to the excitement.

They stabilised with a narrow win against Al Khor, putting themselves just a win away from securing their seventh title in 10 years.

Regragui said they were ready for the challenge.

“We are ready to face Al Ahli, win the match and finish the league. It is like a cup final. A month ago, we knew that we had five decisive matches. We would have liked to win the title early, but we were not successful. Now, we have a match to win and we knew that Al Rayyan would be chasing us, but we will win and celebrate the title,” said Regragui.

“We did not feel pressure in previous matches, especially because our destiny is still in our hands and victory will make us win the league. If there is pressure, it will be positive. We have confidence in ourselves and we have to win this match and clinch the title.”

Duhail will be without some key players including Youssef Msakni.

“We will miss the services of Yousef Msakni, Assim Madibo and Bassam Al Rawi. At the same time, Ahmed Yasser has returned to training. There will be no major changes in the squad. I think we will play with the same squad, the players must put in efforts on the field and I trust all of them.

“The season was long and difficult. Now, the important thing for me is the recovery of injured players because we need them to prepare for the AFC Champions League and fortunately Al Duhail have many options,” said Regragui.

The only thing Rayyan can do is give their best against Wakrah and hope for the best.

“We are ready to face Al Wakrah and provide our best in order to win. The title is not in our hands. For me, I do not prefer waiting for the result of the other match. We have to focus on our game because it is difficult. If we cannot win, we will not have a chance to win the title and we must do our job until the last moment,” said coach Diego Aguirre.

“The preparations for Al Wakrah game were very good. We do not have any excuses, we have to continue winning and achieve victory in this game. We are required to focus, maybe something good will happen. We may or may not win the title.

“The season, in general, was good because we competed for the title until the last round. It is a good thing for Al Rayyan, especially with some new players who joined at the beginning of the season. We needed some time to harmonise and adapt and I am happy with what we have provided and it is possible that there will be a surprise at the end of the journey.”