Al Gharafa coach Slavisa Jokanovic spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 9 match against Al Sadd.

“This will be a difficult march because we are playing a side that has many national team players. It is considered as the best team in the league with solid players for every level they compete in. Their players have been appearing together for a long time.

“From our side, the preparations have gone well. I hope we remain in a good competitive mood. We will see what happens next. You know every match carries a different story. We will try to take advantage of the position that we are in at the moment.

“Al Sadd are getting ready for the Amir Cup final and we will see if they play with their first-choice players. We are going through a positive phase in terms of performance and confidence. We have started to play better as a team. We have achieved three wins, but we are already looking to the future. We must now focus on the future,” said Jokanovic.

Al Gharafa goalkeeper Salah Zakaria said, “It is certain that our next match against Al Sadd will be strong, but our goal is to win the three points to strengthen our spot in the points table. The difference between us and Al Sadd is four points. We hope to win to achieve our goal of collecting full points. Al Sadd certainly have the strongest attack in the league. We will do our best to keep our slate clean.

“Playing with Al Gharafa has made me a better keeper. I have benefited a lot from the presence of two seasoned keepers in Qasim Burhan and Yousef Hassan. I feel when you play for a good team, you appear well.”