Al Arabi face Al Gharafa in a crucial Week 21 fixture of 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League at the Al Arabi Stadium on Thursday, May 4. The kick-off is at 21:00.

The Dream Team are in a chase to match Al Duhail in a bid for championship title and are in a must-win situation, but their task against The Cheetahs will not be easy as they aim to finish in the top four.

Al Arabi, who had a great run at the start of league championship, are second in the rankings with 43 points, five behind leaders Al Duhail and two points ahead of defending champions Al Sadd.

The Dream Team will also look to shrug off their loss in the previous round |(1-2) to Al Wakrah. The team relies on the skills of their striking duo of Yousef Msakni and Omar Al Somah, and would hope for them to score big not only to be back to winning ways but also to keep their slim hopes alive if the title contenders Al Duhail were to face a reversal.

Al Gharafa too have been smarting from their previous round loss to Qatar SC (0-1) and aim to win against Al Arabi and move into the top four of the rankings. The Cheetahs currently are fifth in the table with 32 points, while Al Wakrah with 33 points are in the fourth place.

Al Gharafa’s Portuguese coach Pedro Martins has the services of Yacine Brahimi, Farid Boulaya, Ishak Belfodil, Ahmed Alaaeldin and Ahmed Al Janehi among others who form an attacking force and the coach will hope for them to overcome Al Arabi's strong defence and achieve an important victory.

Al Arabi coach Younes Ali is also a master tactician and will be studying his counterpart’s moves closely to guide his players wisely in the very crucial encounter.