Umm Salal face Al Duhail in Week 20 of the 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League at the Al Duhail Stadium on Saturday, April 29. The kick-off is at 19:00.

A must-win game for both teams, the clash is considered as one of the strongest and difficult given the situations and teams’ frantic efforts to get their best positions in the rankings.

Leaders Al Duhai, with 45 points to their credit, have Al Arabi on their heels (43 points), while Umm Salal (16 points) also desperately need a win to wriggle out of the relegation zone. Hence, this match is of big importance to both Al Duhail and Umm Salal.

The teams have prepared strongly, Al Duhail are motivated to continue their winning run, while Umm Salal are seeking to improve the show.

Al Duhail scored a valuable 4-3 win over Al Rayyan recently in their postponed match from Week 15, while Umm Salal beat Al Markhiya 3-2 in their previous round (Week 19).

Given the tough equations, Al Duhail will try not to miss any opportunity or retreat because they are aware of Al Arabi waiting to pounce on their slip-ups. The Red Knights coach Hernan Crespo knows well the importance and difficulty of the match and is also aware that Umm Salal will also push hard to make good of their own chances.

Al Duhail have the firepower with their attacking line led by Almoez Ali along with Nam Tae-Hee, Ferjani Sassi and Michael Olunga.

To counter this, Umm Salal coach Talal El Karkouri will count on his players Yassin Al Bakhit, Vinicius Araujo, Abdullah Khafifi, Adel Rhaili and Nasser Al Nasr among others.