El Jaish take on Al Wakrah at the Lekhwiya stadium this Sunday. The first match of the QSL season for both sides will be an exciting affair as it will see the introduction of legendary Malian midfielder Seydou Keita to the QSL.
 
El Jaish have made it through to the AFC Champions League semifinal. The Soldiers have also signed a world class midfielder in Seydou Keita and they will be gunning to make a positive start to the league against Al Wakrah.
 
Head coach Sabri Lamouchi believes his side’s achievements on Wednesday evening will boost the side going into the opening game of the QSL season. “The squad is on a high following our result against Al Nasr, we must keep this up against Al Wakrah.”
 
“We cannot be complacent as Al Wakrah are a good side and hungry to get a big result against El Jaish, we will have to be mentally prepared” added the French coach.


 
 
Al Wakrah, who finished in eleventh place last season, will be looking to improve their position in the table. The Blue Waves will be without their top scorer Sacha who moved to UAE side Emirates in the close season.
 
Mauricio Larriera, the head coach of Al Wakrah, is hoping for a positive start to the season, “We will play against a team who are ready to play as they were already playing in the AFC Champions League. They have one of the best midfielders in the world who is Seydou Keita, we hope our preparation pays off against El Jaish.”
 
Speaking about Al Wakrah’s struggle for form in the past couple of seasons, Larriera added, “The team in the last three years was fighting to stay in the league. This year unfortunately there will be more teams that will be relegated. The only way to get out of this situation is to work hard.”
 
The Blue Waves have made some new signings and Larriera believes they can fill the void created by the exit of Sacha, “We have brought in two more players and these players gave us a lot of options that we needed. However they will need some time to adapt to the team.”