Al Sadd eye redemption, but Al Duhail now have Mandzukic

Doha, Qatar: Reigning champions Al Sadd and their coach Xavi Hernandez have a point to prove when the second phase of the Qatar Stars League starts on Thursday.

Sadd have endured a rollercoaster season so far and have so often turned up in totally different moods — from being steady to unbelievably unplayable to uncharacteristically uninspired and they need to get their act together if they are to entertain any hopes of catching leaders Al Duhail SC.

The Wolves have shown they can make the very best look ordinary in dazzling performances in the AFC Champions League against Al Nassr at home and eventual winners Al Hilal away.

They started well in the QSL, winning their first four matches, but lost their focus to lose three of their last five including 1-4 defeat against Al Duhail and a 0-3 blanking at the hands of Qatar SC.

But the 5-1 victory against Al Gharafa should definitely give Sadd plenty of belief and Xavi would be hoping that they have turned the corner.

Sadd, however, need more than just regaining their form as Duhail already are four points ahead of second-placed Al Rayyan and 11 ahead of Sadd even though the Wolves have two extra games in hand.

And Duhail are more than making sure that they avoid any slip-up and the signing of Croatian star Mario Mandzukic from Italian giants Juventus is a clear statement of intent.

Duhail, coached by Rui Faria the former assistant of Jose Mourinho, started slowly drawing two of their first three matches, but have slowly but steadily picked up the pace and are on an eight-match winning run.

Mandzukic is surely going to add an extra dimension to Duhail’s attack which already has the pace of Edmilson Junior and the talent of Youssef Msakni and Almoez Ali.

Though Faria will surely have a selection headache up front, with Mandzukic in the side Duhail will surely be stronger.

Second-placed Al Rayyan are waiting to pounce on any slip up on Duhail and in evergreen Rodrigo Tabata they have a player who has been there and done all that.

Rayyan, however, are not just about Tabata now and players like Yacine Brahimi are proven match winners.

Gharafa too were impressive but the defeat to Sadd is definitely a big blow to their title aspirations.

Al Sailiya, under Sami Trabelsi, was mighty impressive last season and would be keen to get that form back as they also have the AFC Champions League to deal with.

Al Arabi too would be hoping for a turnaround of fortunes as the ankle injury to Aron Gunnarsson has proved to be a big blow for them.

Arabi won four of their first five matches but are yet to win in the league after Gunnarsson got injured, losing three of their last five.

Gunnarsson was also instrumental in bringing Arabi fans back to the stadium and coach Heimir Hallgrímsson would want his trump card back in action as fast as he can.

Qatar SC al Wakrah and Al Ahli have it in them to upset the form charts and spoil the fun of the big boys as Qatar SC showed against Al Sadd, but Al Khor, Umm Salal and Al Shahania look destined for a relegation battle, if they are not already in it yet.