Lekhwiya to face Jaish in high stakes encounter today

Table-toppers El Jaish take on second-placed Lekhwiya in what promises to be a must-watch Qatar Stars League encounter today evening.
Ahead of the derby game at Lekhwiya stadium, El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi was confident his side can make their mark in this crunch match.
“The pressure is on in some ways for my side. If we win we will have a seven point gap over our rivals, which will be helpful for us. If we lose we are still top, but the gap is smaller. We must manage the game well and we have the quality to do that,” he said.
“We showed that we can win by playing ugly against Al Ahli last week. This was a wake-up call for the group and we discussed how we cannot play like that again against a top opposition like Lekhwiya,” the Frenchman said.
El Jaish have only dropped points once this season, and Lamouchi said the team spirit is at an all-time high.
“That winning feeling is fantastic; to build confidence in a side. The more wins you register the stronger you feel. I know that Lekhwiya have dropped some points at times this season, but not lost. Our aim will be to defeat them on Tuesday.”
Second-placed Lekhwiya head into their El Jaish clash off the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over Al Sailiya in round nine. Head coach Djamel Belmadi stressed that his side are primed to take top spot when the time is right.
“El Jaish are in good form at the moment this is true. However, the season is long and all that matters is who is top of the league come the end of the season.
“We need to concentrate in the big matches to avoid any mistakes. We could have easily lost to Al Rayyan but did well to draw the game. We must be at full concentration against El Jaish,” the Algerian tactician said.
Belmadi ended his press conference praising Moroccan signing Yusef
El Arabi.
“Yusef is a positive for us on and off the pitch. He trains well and has settled well, especially in scoring goals. Now he must focus heading into this busy period and do his best to help the club get top spot.”
Lekhwiya midfielder Karim Boudiaf has been leading by example in the centre for the Red Knights. The Qatar international midfielder has two goals in QSL games and will be aiming to add to his tally in the derby game against El Jaish.
Struggling Al Kharaitiyat are yet to register a win under new coach Ahmad al-Ajlani and will be eager to kick-start their season when they take on Al Ahli today.
Al Ahli lost narrowly 1-0 to El Jaish last time out, and head coach Yusef Adam is aiming for a win against Al Kharaitiyat. “There is no doubt that the three points are very crucial to us in the coming game,” Adam said.
Al Shahania are set to take on a struggling Al Arabi side today. The Oryxes will be targeting a big win against an Al Arabi side that is yet to register a win in six QSL games.
Al Arabi head coach Edison Aguirre has earmarked this tie as an important one for his team. “There is plenty of pressure at Al Arabi at the moment, that is normal in any big club in the QSL, we must now focus on getting points and going up the standings this is our aim from this game.”
Struggling Al Sailiya will look to bounce back from a 0-3 defeat against Lekhwiya when they take on Muaither today.
As for Muaither, they fell to a 0-2 defeat to Umm Salal in round nine. Muaither have failed to pick up points in their last two QSL games and will be eager to prove themselves against an established side.

TODAY’S FIXTURES
4pm: Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Ahli
4pm: Al Sailiya vs Muaither
6:10pm: Al Shahania vs Al Arabi
6:10pm: El Jaish vs Lekhwiya