Al Markhiya coach Madjid Bougherra spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 12 match against Al Rayyan.

“Al Rayyan are one of the best teams in Qatar. They have good players at the skill level. In their last two matches, they won against Al Ahli and lost to Al Sadd, so we know what is expected and we are preparing for this match as a final.

“After our match against Umm Salal, the team had 12 days before facing Al Rayyan, which was a long break between the two matches and a good opportunity for us to prepare and continue working on enhancing the positive things and addressing the negatives that we had, and we are now ready for Al Rayyan.

“At the beginning of the season, we lost our matches due to small details, and in football, small details are big, but the team shows a good face. As you know in football, every match is different from the other. Now, after 11 matches, there will be a change in everything and I hope to continue the level. What we saw against Umm Salal, for me, I think it was one of the matches that was characterized by team spirit and solidarity between the players,” said Bougherra.

Al Markhiya player Noufal Bannis said, “The first leg was difficult for us... We have four points, but we must continue to work positively in the second leg of the league. The last match was good, we played with team spirit and we were good tactically. We must continue like this and, God-willing, we will be better.

“We are ready for the second leg and we must be extremely prepared and focused as a team, and be more positive, and we must focus on each match individually. With regard to the next match, I think we are 100 per cent ready and I hope we get the three points.”