Al Rayyan keen to continue winning run, Al Arabi out to stop them
Doha, Qatar: Al Rayyan are keen to keep their momentum going in the Qatar Stars League but Al Arabi are sure to pose tough challenge for Diego Aguirre’s side when they meet on Friday.
Rayyan, second in the table with 15 points from seven games, are the in-form team but Aguirre would be wary of Heimir Hallgrimsson-coached Arabi, who themselves were enjoying a fine run before being beaten by Al Gharafa last week.
And that both teams have big support bases makes it an even more exciting matchup.
“This game has a big importance for our team as well as our fans and also Qatar football fans because both teams have a large fan base and a big history of titles,” said Aguirre at the pre-match media conference.
“Our team is on a high following a series of good results since the beginning of this season. We have to play in the same way in order to achieve the victory we are looking for against Al Arabi.
After starting the season with three consecutive draws, against Umm Salal, Al Duhail and Al Gharafa, Rayyan turned on the style to notch up four straight victories including a 4-2 stunner against Al Sadd and a 5-0 thrashing of Qatar SC.
Rayyan still have their inspirational captain pulling the strings but Aguirre said teamwork was their biggest strength.
“I prefer to talk about players as a group and not about a specific player because the most important characteristic of Al Rayyan is collective performance. We know that the game will be tough as the opponents have high-quality players and technical staff,” said Aguirre.
League leaders Al Duhail take on Al Gharafa in another tough encounter on Saturday.
In the second match on Saturday, Al Sadd, who put in a stunning performance to beat Al Hilal in Riyadh in the Champions League semifinal second leg, which proved insufficient ultimately, look to be back in the groove after losing to Al Rayyan and could well prove too strong for Al Ahli.
In the other matches, Al Wakrah take on Al Khoor on Thursday a couple of hours before Umm Salal play Qatar SC.
Al Shahania meet Al Sailiya in Friday’s first match.
