Qatar’s Al Arabi ready to take on Saudi side Ettifaq

Al Arabi face Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia in the third round (Group B) of the 2024-2025 season Gulf Club Champions League at the Al Thumama Stadium today. The kick-off is at 8pm.
Qadsia of Kuwait and Riffa of Bahrain are the other teams in the group.
Al Arabi go into the clash looking to resurrect their position in the group after going down 0-2 in the last round to Riffa. Al Arabi had played a 1-1 draw against Qadsia in their opener.
The Dream Team with a solitary point to their credit are currently fourth in the group, while Ettifaq are on top with six points, Riffa are second with three points followed by Qadsia with one point.
Al Arabi will be aiming to register their first win in the league to enhance their chances of qualifying for the next round.
Al Arabi coach Anthony Hudson will be carefully studying the Ettifaq team to determine their strengths and weaknesses and work on exploiting the loopholes.
Hudson said on Tuesday: “Our preparations are good for the match, and we look forward to achieving a positive result despite our difficult situation. I have complete confidence in our ability to give our best to the agreement.”
He added: “We are not looking for justifications, but there are certain circumstances that had an impact, namely the absence of some basic players in the team. Based on the past period, the club’s fans were not happy as desired, but there is still a chance to make them happy.”
Al Arabi player Abdou Diallo said on Tuesday: “I am fully prepared for the Al-Ettifaq match, and we will go into it with the aim of achieving victory, as that is the way to do it. The only thing to get back on the right path is to work hard and work hard to improve the results. To the fans of Al Arabi Club, I have nothing to add except that we will do our best. To achieve the best results in the coming period is what we want to do as a team.”
Ettifaq, meanwhile, would be looking to gain as many points they can from the clash following their two successive wins to maintain the lead as group leaders.
This new version of Gulf Club Champions League includes eight teams divided into two groups with matches held on home-and-away basis.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the semi-finals of the league.