Al Arabi face Al Shamal in Week 1 of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. The kick-off is at 8.30pm at the Al Thumama Stadium.

Both teams enter the clash with both caution and focus to achieve victory, especially since each of them have been through strong preparation and played a number of friendlies to find out the general level of the players.

Al Arabi aspire to reach the top of the league and win the title especially since what they achieved last season – finishing second in the championship besides winning the Amir Cup. They will surely look for a winning start to the new season.

Al Arabi enter their opening match under coach Younes Ali with five foreign professionals in the ranks, namely Syrian Omar Al Somah, Tunisian Yousef Msakni, Moroccan Mohamed Taabouni and Algerian Wassim Keddari in addition to the continuation of Brazilian Rafinha. The team still has two professionals players’ spots remaining.

Al Arabi went through a preparatory overseas camp in Spain and they played several friendly matches from which the team has benefited strongly.

While the match is a test for Al Shamal, they will aim to prove their presence from the very first round, having managed to stay in the league after beating Second Division runners-up Al Khor in Play-Off.

Al Shamal coach Poya Asbaghi seeks to achieve the first win relying on a number of his players, including foreign professionals, most notably Ricardo Gomes, Younes El Hannach, Omid Ebrahimi, Jason Morello, Matias Nani and Ali Olwan, in addition to new signings Abdulaziz Al Ansari, Khalifa Al Maliki and Mowafaq Awad.

The team had an overseas camp in Austria wherein they also played a number of friendly matches in addition to the technical and physical training that prepared the team for the kick-off.

The opening matches always provide indications of what each team aspires to achieve and, as such,,there will be a great focus on the part of each team to present a strong show and positive result for a good start to the new season.