Sunday, 12th September, 2021

20:20 kick-off at Al Gharafa Stadium

Al Sadd face Al Sailiya in Week 1 of the 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League. The kick-off is at 20:20 at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Sunday, 12th September, 2021.

Al Sadd proved their worth while deservedly winning last season’s QNB Stars League. They will surely encounter more challenges in their quest to retain the title and are sure to face fierce competition from other teams.

At the end of last season, Al Sadd had announced the renewal of coach Xavi Hernandez’s contract for two more seasons. In his second season (2020-2021) in charge of Al Sadd, Xavi had won the award for the best coach.

Xavi guided Al Sadd to the QNB Stars League title in the 2020-2021 season. They topped the table with 60 points from 22 matches, winning 19 and drawing three. In the process, they were the only unbeaten team.

Despite occupying the ninth place in the league last season, Al Sailiya were able to finish the season well by winning the Ooredoo Cup, their first major trophy.

The happy ending last season will undoubtedly be a new beginning as they seek return to the top-four bracket for which they qualified twice since they started playing in the QNB Stars League. They finished fourth in the 2013-2014 season and third in the 2018-19 season, which was their best performance.

Tunisian Sami Trabelsi is coaching Al Sailiya for the ninth consecutive season.