Al Arabi take on  newly promoted Muaither on Thursday evening without a recognised head coach following the dismissal of Gerardo Pelusso on Monday evening. Caretaker coach Kamal Akhlaf took the pre match press conference

"I have been with the club for seven years, the management have trusted me for this game. Most of the local players know me from when they are young. My main job is the youth teams, i hope we get a positive result and the fans if they need someone i am happy to help.” explained the Algerian coach when asked about his coaching credentials. 

Kamal has only been with the side for two days, however the caretaker boss is expecting a result against the newly promoted team. "I hope the players give their all in this game and get a positive result. All we have focused on is to give confidence and motivation for the team. I hope that what we have worked on in our short time together works on the pitch against Muaither” 

The Algerian coach also stressed his side will be prepared for the Stallions."Muaither have beaten Al Wakrah, they are dangerous. They played well defensively, we have considered everything and we know that shocks can happy. We are ready for any suprises that Muaither can give us in the next game." 

Ending the press conference, Kamal reflected on Al Arabi, who are currently looking for a new head coach. "There is no problem in the club, we have good professional and local players sometimes you do not have the luck. The management have decided to change and we hope this change will advance the club moving forward. 

As for Muaither, they registered their first victory of the season against Al Wakrah, head coach Phillipe Birol gave his thoughts on the upcoming match.

"Al Arabi have lost some games, and it’s a shock now that they have lost their manager we have to be ready for whatever they give us” claimed Birol when asked about what he was expecting from Al Arabi.

Birol also confirmed he will be looking for a strong performance against The Dream Team "We have only had four days to prepare for the game, Al Arabi are strong in attack, and we must defend well against them just like we did against Al Wakrah. We must also be clinical in attack with Dioko and Zata’ra."

"It’s a good thing to win after losing the first four games. Now the players are confident and know that we can win matches. Now our players know that we can score goals in this league. we have to work together to achieve the results we want” reflected Birol when asked if his side can push on from their first win of the season. 

Birol ended his press conference talking up his star striker Alain Dioko. "It’s symbolic to sign a player at Dioko, it’s a great gift he has been top scorer twice in the QSL. He has is a model professional on the training pitch and during the game, he showed that he has not joined to Muaither to come on his holidays."