Al Duhail will look to start from where they left off, while Al Gharafa seek to build on their recent good form when they face off in the second semifinal of Qatar Cup on Sunday, 22nd April. The match will kick off at the Al Sadd Stadium at 19:00.

The semifinals will pit the QNB Stars League’s first against fourth-placed team and second against third-placed side. In case of tie after regular time, matches will be decided in tie-breaker without extra time.

Al Duhail entered the Qatar Cup as the 2017-18 season QNB Stars League champions. It was their sixth league title, second in a row and first after their formation following the merger of Lekhwiya with El Jaish.

They had clinched the title with an unassailable lead over nearest challengers Al Sadd with two rounds of matches remaining.

In the process, The Red Knights, who finished on 60 points from 19 wins and three draws, remained as the only unbeaten side.

Al Duhail had more to cheer as Moroccan striker Youssef El Arabi bagged the top-scorer award with 26 goals, just one ahead of his captain and Tunisian attacking midfielder Youssef Msakni.

El Arabi was the top scorer last season also.

Djamel Belmadi’s men have a fierce frontline and scored 86 goals, the most by any team. Al Sadd came next with 68.

They also had the second-best defence as they conceded only 27 goals, two more than the number of goals against Al Sadd.

Al Duhail had stability in terms of the presence of professional players as except Chico Flores, who was replaced by Lucas Mendes, all other players — Msakny, El Arabi and Nam Tae-Hee — stayed.

Besides, they have an outstanding array of Qatari players such as Karim Boudiaf, Almoez Ali, Bassam Al Rawi, Ismail Mohamed, Luiz Martin, Mohamed Moussa and Sultan Al Berik.

They have players with great potential, both junior and experienced ones, to deliver the goods.

Al Duhail suffered a setback when captain Msakny was ruled out of action for almost six months with a cruciate ligament injury he sustained during their QNB Stars League Week 22 match against Al Sailiya.

Msakny will also miss the FIFA World Cup in Russia this summer. In his absence, Boudiaf is to lead the side.

On the other hand, Al Gharafa qualified for the Qatar Cup after finishing fourth in the QNB Stars League following their 3-0 win over Qatar SC in Week 22.

Going into the final day of this season’s competition, Al Duhail, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan had already taken unassailable leads and the main question was which team would complete the Qatar Cup line-up.

Al Gharafa were widely expected to stay in the fourth position. And The Cheetahs did that after edging out Umm Salal to finish on 35 points (10 victories, five draws and seven defeats).

Al Gharafa reaped rewards for making an overhaul in the January transfer window. Turkish coach Bulent Uygun took over from Frenchman Jean Fernandez, who guided them to the QSL Cup triumph, before the start of second phase.

They also strengthened their ranks by roping in Dutch attacking midfielder Wesley Sneijder, Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi and Assim Madibo.

They have a good mix of experience and youth, and Bulent succeeded in moulding them into a fighting unit.

The likes of captain Sneijder, Taremi and Brazilian midfielder Diogo Amado gelled well with youngsters such as goalkeeper Yusuf Hassan, Amro Seraj, Ilyas Ahmed and Monkez Mohamed.

They also have talented players such as Ahmed Alaaeldin, Hassan Fadli, Madibo and Othman Al Yahri.

Al Gharafa have one of the strongest attacking lines. They scored 43 goals, the fourth best by any team after Al Duhail, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan, while conceding 34.

Meanwhile, Al Duhail became the first team to qualify for Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League, while Al Gharafa failed to progress from the group stage.