Umm Salal face former champions Al Sadd in the final clash of Week 1 of 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League on Friday. The kick-off is at 8.30pm at the panoramic Al Bayt Stadium.

The result and points from the match will be of high importance to the two teams. Al Sadd, however, would seek a solid start aiming to gain the big momentum, while Umm Salal will be keen to provide their best to produce a positive result for a morale-boosting beginning in the new season.

Umm Salal have made some top reinforcements to their team. The new season will also see Umm Salal returning to the French school, having contracted French coach Patrice Carteron, who has great footballing experience in the region, Asia and Africa.

Umm Salal have top local players, like Husam Kamal, Khaled Mansour, Walid Fathi and Ali Afif, along with a number of foreign professionals, namely: Algerian international Andy Delort, coming from French club Nantes, Algerian Victor Lekhal, star from French club Le Havre, with his compatriot Naim Aidouni, player of the Algerian youth team, Moroccan Oussama Tannane, Dutch Kenji Gorre, from Portuguese club Boavista, Moroccan Marouane Louadni and Senegalese goalkeeper Landing Badji.

Al Sadd, who have gained from their participation in the King Salman Club Cup recently, have also strengthened their ranks with a number of new deals which include Brazilian Paulo Otavio, Iranian Mohammad Amin Hazbavi, Colombian Mateus Uribe, Brazilian Giovani Henrique, who suffered a cruciate ligament and cartilage injury during a friendly against Raja Athletic of Morocco in Doha, Romain Saiss, star of the Morocco national team, and Ecuadorian Gonzalo Plata (with a five-year contract from Spanish club Valladolid).