Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 4 match against Al Ahli.

“The match will be difficult for both sides because each team seeks to win and we will go into the match with all strength. The team benefited from the break in the league and played in the first round of Ooredoo Cup, which was a strong preparation for the players. For me personally, after the team played a big and strong match and won, it made me happy, first of all, with the performance, the spirit, and the harmony and understanding of the players, which is in the interest of the team during league matches. Therefore it was a very useful experience for every player and the match against Al Ahli will be strong.

“Al Ahli are one of the strong teams that we respect greatly. There are changes in their ranks (signing German player Julian Draxler), who is a strong and useful player and will help Al Ahli a lot. He is a wonderful player and I know him well, and he will be an addition to Al Ahli.

“The fourth-round match will be a strong struggle to win the match points. If we win, which we will play for, our team will progress in the table and this is what we and the players are striving for, so it is an important match,” said Carteron.

Umm Salal player Meshal Al Shammari said, “Al Ahli match is tough, but we will not give up these points. Rather, we will play with strength and enthusiasm to achieve our first victory in the league.

“We respect Al Ahli well and the break was useful to us after the coach did a great job in correcting the mistakes and implementing the plans for the next matches.”