QNB Stars League Week 5 Saturday Preview
The QNB Stars League Week 5 fixtures on Saturday are Al Gharafa vs Umm Salal (18:00) at Al Gharafa Stadium and Al Ahli vs Al Kharaitiyat (20:10) at Al Ahli Stadium.
Al Gharafa vs Umm Salal
Sparks fly whenever Al Gharafa and Umm Salal face off. It will be no different this time.
Al Gharafa have seven points as against Umm Salal’s four.
The Cheetahs will look to consolidate their position with a victory, while The Orange Fortress will try to stay on course for a top-four spot.
The game will also be noted more on the technical front as both teams are under French coaches since the start of this season.
Christian Gourcuff replaced Turk Bulent Uygun at Al Gharafa, while Laurent Banide came to Umm Salal in place of ex-Moroccan international Talal El Karkouri, who had also also played for The Orange Fortress and Qatar SC.
Al Gharafa easily beat Al Ahli (4-0), while Umm Salal lost to Al Arabi (1-5) in Week 4 of the QNB Stars League.
Al Ahli vs Al Kharaitiyat
Al Ahli have just one victory to their credit, while Al Kharaitiyat are the only team yet to open the account in the QNB Stars League.
Both coaches (Milan Macala of Al Ahli and Abdulaziz El Amri of Al Kharaitiyat) had stressed the need for a win at this stage as the teams are desperate to make a turnaround in their fortunes.
Al Ahli and Al Kharaitiyat had lost to Al Gharafa (0-4) and Al Rayyan (1-2) respectively in the previous round.
Al Kharaitiyat can avail of the services of new recruit Jugurtha Hamroun, who represented Al Sadd last season.
