Two big matches in QNB Stars League on Sunday
The QNB Stars League will witness two big fixtures on Sunday — Al Sadd vs Al Gharafa (Al Sadd Stadium, 17:25) and Al Duhail vs Al Rayyan (Khalifa International Stadium, 19:35).
Al Sadd vs Al Gharafa
Al Sadd and Al Gharafa had both won in the last round, against Al Arabi and Al Sailiya respectively.
Al Sadd are in marauding form and will look to keep topping the table, while Al Gharafa, who lost to Qatar SC in Week 1, will surely not want to drop points any more.
Al Sadd will take on Iran’s Esteghlal away in their AFC Champions League first-leg quarterfinal on 27th August.
The Al Sadd line-up consists of Xavi Hernandez, Gabi, Baghdad Bounedjah, Akram Afif, Hassan Al Haydous and Ali Asad.
Al Gharafa have players such as Wesley Sneijder, Mehdi Taremi, Vladimir Weiss, Diego Amado and Ahmed Alaaeldin.
Al Duhail vs Al Rayyan
Al Duhail will be eager to dominate Al Rayyan, particularly after their loss when they clashed against each other in the Sheikh Jassim Cup on 1st August.
Al Duhail will continue to miss Karim Boudiaf and Ismail Mohammed, who both are recuperating from injuries. However, they have in their ranks Moroccan spearhead Yousef El Arabi, South Korean attacking midfielder Nam Tae-Hee, new recruit Edmilson, Lucas Mendes, speedy striker Almoez Ali and young Bassam Al Rawi.
Al Duhail are also gearing up for their AFC Champions League home quarterfinal against Iran’s Persepolis on 28th August.
Al Rayyan’s Moroccan striker Abderrazaq Hamdallah is also nursing an injury, while Argentinian striker Jonathan Menendez may not start as he has yet to complete his documentation.
But then, The Lions, who were held by Umm Salal in Week 2, have Rodrigo Tabata, Sebastian Soria, Khalfan Ibrahim, Abdulrahman Al Harazi, Daniel Goumou, Gonzalo Vieira and Koh Myong-Jin.
