Al Sadd look to take advantage of home conditions against Al Hilal

Doha, Qatar: Al Sadd are just four matches away from their second AFC Champions League title and the Wolves would be keen to make another statement of intent in Tuesday’s semifinal first leg against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal at home.

Another Saudi Arabia side Al Nassr got a taste of how lethal and relentless Sadd can be in front of their fans in the quarterfinal second leg in which Xavi’s men just outplayed their rivals in every department and a repeat of that performance will surely help the Qataris put a foot in the final.

Goals from Akram Afif, Hassan Al Haydous and Baghdad Bounedjah helped Sadd win 3-1 in the second for a 4-3 aggregate victory and Xavi would be expecting more of that at their home ground on Tuesday against Hilal, who boast a lethal attack comprising Sebastian Giovinco, Bafetimbi Gomis, Andre Carrillo and Carlos Eduardo, so that they can face the away leg in Riyadh on 22 October with more confidence.

Sadd had their final training session before the game on Monday under the watchful eyes of form Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi, who has already caught the attention with his coaching.

Sadd will be without Pedro Miguel and Abdulaziz Al Ansari who both are ruled out after having failed to recover from injuries.

The match starts at 6.30 pm.