Depleted Al Gharafa face tough challenge from Al Arabi

Doha: Three straight defeats, including last week’s 2-0 loss to Al Kharaitiyat, have put Al Gharafa in a spot of bother and another tricky challenge awaits them on Friday in the form of Al Arabi.

With just seven points from seven games, Gharafa, who have high ambitions, are seventh in the standings and a defeat against Arabi would put a lot of pressure on coach Christian Gourcuff. But it is going to be an extremely challenging task as Gharafa will again be without their captain Wesley Sneijder, who has not recovered from a thigh injury. They will also miss Diego Amado, one of their most influential players, through suspension.

 “We are suffering from the absence of top players and it undoubtedly affects any team. At the same time, it will give opportunities to other players, especially youngsters. We are trying to rectify the mistakes that we have made. We will definitely find solutions for them,” said Gourcuff at the pre-match press conference.

“We are in a difficult stage. We need to play with determination and make less mistakes. The onus is on our youngsters to grab the chances with both hands.

“Diego Amado cannot play due to suspension. So is Wesley Sneijder with an injury. Ahmed Alaaeldin was back in training, but is a doubtful starter. It’s good that goalkeeper Yousef Hassan has returned from his injury. It has boosted the confidence of the team,” said Gourcuff.

The Frenchman said Gharafa need a good result to regain their confidence.

“Our ambition is to be in the top four, but now, we aim to provide a good game to regain the confidence. We have to get into our style and fight our way back into the tournament,” said Gourcuff.

Meanwhile Arabi, though only sixth, are in a much more comfortable position as they are five points above Gharafa.

They came back strongly from their 10-1 mauling at the hands of Al Sadd in the second week, but two defeats in the last three games have curtailed some of their progress.

Arabi coach Luka Bonacic said they would be looking to get back to winning ways.

“We will try to get back to winning ways with a victory against Al Gharafa. At the same time, Al Gharafa had lost in their last three games and may come hard at us. We must be wary of them.

“We have to get back our winning mentality. We hope to put up our best. We must be prepared for all scenarios,” said Bonacic.

The Croatian coach said inconsistency was their main problem.

“I can make physical and tactical changes, but I cannot change the mentality of the players. We play one or two games very well, and then fare badly in one or two games.

“We lose concentration sometimes. The ups and downs are difficult to handle. But then, we must be ready for them. The best teams survive the downs.

“It was not easy in the beginning as we had made many changes from last season. We are trying to improve our game and our ambition is top four,” said Bonacic.