Al Markhiya mark their return to the QNB Stars League with a tough opening day fixture against last season’s Qatar Cup winners Al Sadd. Qatari coach Yusef Adam spoke with the local media ahead of the Saturday evening clash. 

Opening up the press conference Adam took time to thank club management for hiring him in the summer. “I want to express my thanks to the club administation, for their confidence in my abilities and I hope that we can show our abilities over the course of the season to them.” 

“Al Sadd are one of the biggest sides in Qatar and will be fighting for the title this season. However that said, my side are fully prepared for this campaign and everyone is ready to their best for the club in this tie” added the Qatari coach when asked about Markhiya’s prospects against Al Sadd. 

Whilst for striker Ali Mejbel, he insisted that the Markhiya are not fazed by taking on Al Sadd. “Many people will be predicting an Al Sadd win on Saturday. However the squad is not going into the game second best. We have shown a good team spirit in preseason and I believe we will be fighting for the points against Al Sadd.” 

As for Al Sadd, they will be targeting a statement win against the newly promoted side. Assistant coach Nuno Dalmada gave his thoughts on the Wolves opening fixtures. 

“Markhiya will be a tough match for us, they come into the league off the back of a undefeated campaign in the second division. They will have plenty of confidence and it will be our job to get the better of them on Saturday” noted Dalmada when asked about taking on the QNB Stars League new boys. 

Al Sadd are fresh from lifting the Sheikh Jassim Cup last weekend, however despite this success Dalmada was eager to stress that the side are not getting ahead of themselves. “Winning last weekend is now behind us, and we have to focus on this match. At the end of the day we now have to look to win this match, and this is the aim from the side.” 

“We have a number of players who are injury doubts for the match, due to fatigue. We will be making a decision in regards to the squad after training” noted the Portuguese assistant coach on any key absentees for the side.