Pedro Miguel is a vital cog in reigning QNB Stars League champions Al Sadd’s defence. He has been playing a key role in Spanish coach Xavi Hernandez’ scheme of things as The Wolves, placed third in the standings with 32 points, seek to retain the league shield.

In an exclusive interview with qsl.qa ahead of Al Sadd’s much-anticipated encounter against Al Rayyan in Week 17 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League, dubbed Qatar Clasico, scheduled for Saturday, 7th March, Pedro spoke about a wide range of topics. Excerpts:

The second Qatar Clasico this season... How do you look forward to it?

Clasico is Clasico. It’s amazing and, at the same time, difficult. We’re game for it and we hope to take three points from it.

What makes Al Sadd vs Al Rayyan game so special?

It’s special in so many aspects. There’ll be capacity crowd with a lot of fans from either side attending the stadium. That’s an extra motivation for the players as well.

How do you approach the game, in terms of preparations?

Our preparations started on Monday. Everyone at the club is focused on this game. These kind of matches don’t happen every week and we very much look forward to it.

You’ve a score to settle with Al Rayyan, having lost the first leg Qatar Clasico…

We lost the first leg by a 2-4 margin, but we already made up for it by beating Al Rayyan in the Qatar Cup semifinal with a 4-1 score. But I agree league is a different competition. For us, it’s more important to collect full points.

Do you think the result of this match will’ve a big impact on the title race?

Definitely. In football, you never know what happens next. We still have six games left. We’ve to think only about winning and winning as we’re approaching the end.

How’ll it be from the fans’ point of view?

Our fans have always been supporting us to the tilt. It’s a fact that when they turn up in large numbers, we fare better. This time, it’s Clasico and the stadium must be full. That’ll enhance our mood.

What’ll be the game-changing factor in this match?

If we stay fully focused and are able to score an early goal, that’ll be an advantage for us. Al Rayyan also have good strikers, so we must be extra careful in defence. Both sides have players who’re capable of making a difference in one or two minutes.

Al Sadd dropped four crucial points in the last two rounds…

It happens. You can’t win all the time. Sometimes, you don’t get things right. We’ve to learn from the mistakes and correct them.

Has injury to three players (Hassan Al Haydous, Salem Al Hajri and Ali Asad) affected the team composition?

Of course. When important players are missing in action, it affects the team’s rhythm. They’re players with amazing qualities. But we’ve depth in the squad to compensate for their absence.

How realistic are Al Sadd’s chances of winning the QNB Stars League title this season?

We don’t care about the seven-point difference we’ve with leaders Al Duhail. We’ve our chances. We must continue to fight till the end and keep winning.