Al Markhiya coach Abdullah Mubarak spoke to the media ahead of their 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League Week 4 match against Al Duhail.

“We studied the opponents comprehensively regarding their weaknesses and strengths, and we need to redouble efforts, focus, perseverance and good organization on the field, as it was in the first half of the Al Arabi match in the last round, where we appeared well and were more organized. The situation changed in the first 10 minutes of second half.

“It is natural that we are in a good state of preparation for the match, and as long as we are playing against strong teams, we have to be more focused and persevere while redoubling our efforts to appear at a good level.

“Al Duhail are a strong team with experienced players and achievements, and absences will not affect them. We focus on our team with preparatory sessions to explain the technical aspects and raise the morale after the loss to Al Arabi.

“As for the absences in the team, most notably the loss of the services of defender Ayoub Azzi, I would say that Azzi is an influential player, but we have 23 players who are fully prepared to play the match,” said Abdullah Mubarak.

Al Markhiya player Jamil Al Yahmadi said, “We are fully prepared to play the match and we have put behind the loss to Al Arabi. We now focus only on the Al Duhail match and we strive to make our utmost efforts to appear at a good level and achieve a positive result.

“Al Duhail are a large team that includes players at a distinguished technical level, so the match will not be easy, and we are well aware of the importance of this game.”