Al Markhiya coach Abdullah Mubarak spoke to the media ahead of their 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League Week 15 match against Al Arabi.

“The match will not be easy, especially since Al Arabi are a big team and occupy the second position in the table and aspire to reach the top. They are also on a high after their victory over Al Shamal in the last round.

“Our new recruit from Guinea Jose Correia may take the field and is gradually adapting to the group.

“We have put behind the loss to Al Duhail in the last round, as we focus fully on the next match against Al Arabi. We were not bad against Al Duhail until the 70th minute when the team was ahead by a goal, but we do not forget that we played against the league leaders and one of the best teams in Asia.

“We seek to achieve victory after the completion of our quota of foreign professional players as Correia has replaced Iraqi Aymen Hussein, who moved to the UAE’s Al Jazira. The team will work to provide a strong performance and match with the ambition to win with persistence, focus and redoubled efforts,” said Abdullah.

Al Markhiya player Khaled Radwan said, “We have a difficult match against Al Arabi, who are a great team and have prominent players. But Al Markhiya will be ready for the match with the desire to win and earn full points.

“The loss to Al Duhail is a thing of the past and the focus is now only on the next match. Despite the strength of Al Arabi and their distinguished players, we will take the field with the aim of scoring victory.

“The preparations for the match are going well under the supervision of the technical staff and all players are ready to appear at a good level and achieve a positive result.”