Al Duhail coach Walid Regragui emphasised that there are no easy games as the take on bottom-placed Sharjah for the second time this week in the Asian Champions League.
The Qataris have played domestically more recently, although Regragui believes this makes no difference, citing European examples.
“Sharjah need a result against us to still be in the race for qualification, so it will be very difficult for us,” said the former Morocco international defender, whose team beat Sharjah 2-1 on Tuesday.
“In the AFC Champions League there are no easy games whatsoever. Even though Sharjah have not played competitively in six months, that is not an advantage for us.
“In Europe we saw teams like Olympique Lyon & Paris Saint Germain whose domestic league was cancelled, but they went all the way to the semi-final and final of the UEFA Champions League respectively, so we need to be careful and not think that will make it easy for us.”
Al Duhail welcome the return of Mohamed Muntari from suspension, while the game comes too soon for Edmilson Junior and Karim Boudiaf who continue their recovery from injuries.
Meanwhile, Sharjah midfielder Khalid Bawazir believes there are a lot of positives for his side to take from their 2-1 defeat to Al Duhail.
Bawazir, a UAE international playmaker, joined Sharjah from fellow UAE Pro League side Al Dhafra in July and came off the bench in the second half for his competitive debut for the club.
Suspensions for Uzbek international Otabek Shukurov and Mohammad Abdulbasit, both of whom received their second booking in the competition on Tuesday, means Bawazir is set to be handed his first start at the club in the Matchday Four fixture.
“I am no stranger to many players at Sharjah. I have played with many of them either at my previous clubs or with the age group national teams,” said the 23-year-old.
“The players were very welcoming and that helped a lot with the transition. It was mostly a matter of adapting to the tactical style and needs of the manager. We got a negative result against Al Duhail, but we hope to have benefited from our mistakes and that we can make amends and get a better result against Al Duhail to qualify to the next round.
“Mistakes are part of the game and anyone can make them. We must learn from our mistakes, but we cannot afford to be too cautious as we try to avoid making mistakes.
“The coach believes in all of us, those who made mistakes and others who play in the same position to learn from the mistakes.”
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