Arabi head coach Gianfranco Zola has endured a frustrating season with the Dream team, with the Italian coach admitting he doesn’t know what side will turn up for the Umm Salal match; “I’m optimistic for the match, we have trained well. I am curious to see what performance my side will produce.”

Despite the inconstancy, Zola has confirmed he is doing all he can to change the fortunes of his side. “We played well against El Jaish then we played Al Ahli and gave a different performance. This has costed us plenty of points, the big teams preform week in week out. I am a stubborn man; I will find a solution to this mental issue in our squad.”

Talk turned to his match of the week opponents, who have endured similar fortunes this season. “It’s a team that is similar to us in the league. They are a physical side and ahead of us in the table. It’s a game that we want to win and overtake them. Umm Salal are very strong side in the air so we will have to be careful defensively” noted the Italian tactician.

Zola ended his press conference confirming that his side will not let up in the final games of the season. “For us the championship is not over we have three games left and we are targeting three wins, so we can finish as high as possible in the league.”


 
Umm Salal come into the tie on the back of a victory over Al Wakrah, and know that a victory can effectily end Al Arabi’s slim chances of getting into the Qatar Cup. Head coach Bülent Uygun was eager to praise his opponent. “Firstly I would like to say that Zola is a great manager, and has a great side” noted Uygen on the Thursday morning press conference.

Talking about the side’s progress this year, Bülent Uygun is proud of the efforts of his side so far. “If Umm Salal finish in fifth place this is good for the whole club. We will push the quality overall and lead us to better things in the future.”

The Turkish tactician had a word about his two attackers Sanzhar Tursunov & Mounir El Hamdaoui who he belives has the quality to defeat Arabi. “ Sanzhar and Mounir are international players they add something for the group. I hope we can keep hold of them in the summer.”

One injury doubt for the side will be defender Rami Fayz who will join long term absentees Mohammed Al-Malki & Nassar Khalfan on the sidelines for this game.