Al Duhail coach Sabri Lamouchi spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 14 match against Al Sadd.

“Our match against Al Sadd probably comes at a most crucial stage. But Al Duhail are fully prepared for the match. I have great confidence in the players’ ability to provide the best performance on the field. The match will not be easy for us against an attacking team like Al Sadd who play with a distinctive line of attack. Losing against them can cause us to lose ground on the points table, but we will play with enthusiasm and see what happens.

“Ahmed Yasser was not present in the squad during our match against Al Wakrah as we gave the player a rest after he complained of some pain. We preferred not to play him but now we will enter the stadium with a fit squad. We have no injuries.

“The results achieved by Al Sadd and Al Duhail recently do not reflect the quality of the league. I feel the two teams are at the top of their readiness and have made strong performances. This does not mean the weakness of the league or its declining level,” said Lamouchi.

Al Duhail player Ali Afif said, “We need to keep our focus against Al Sadd and stay determined to achieve a good result. We are facing a team with high potential. We will certainly enter the match with all focus in order to achieve victory.

“Our result against Al Wakrah was excellent and we witnessed the brilliance of all players. That performance gives us the motivation to deliver a great show against Al Sadd. The forthcoming match requires that we stay focused on the field in order to achieve the result we want.

“The goal of the team is always to get the three points in every match. We do not look at our match against Al Sadd as a revenge clash after their victory over us in the previous match. But we will defend our title as we are the defending champions and from this match, we need to get full points.

“The points that have been lost were due to injuries and the absence of key players. Such circumstances surrounded all clubs from time to time. Thank God, we are doing good at the moment.”