Red Knights look to down Umm Salal

Lekhwiya are coming off a huge 5-0 loss against Al Rayyan in their previous Qatar Stars League match and they will be keen to get back to winning ways. But they take on a tough opponent, Umm Salal, in their next match.

“We are now back to the QSL after our Champions League outing. Our last result (against Rayyan) wasn’t good. We want to erase that picture. We want to come back and will look to play a good game and take all three points,” said Lekhwiya Head Coach Djamel Belmadi during the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

Belmadi was happy with the reaction of his players during their Champions League match against Iran’s Zob Ahan. “We didn’t have time to complain about our loss against Rayyan. We had an immediate Champions League match. It’s very difficult when you have to play in Iran. I would like to thank my players for the good reaction they showed in that game,” said the Algerian.

With the QSL title all but wrapped up, defending champions Lekhwiya will have to look at the Cup competitions to grab some silverware this season. “For me the end of the season is very exciting. The League is already over. But the second play is important for the next Asian Champions League campaign. And then there are the two Cup competitions. We also have the Champions League this season. We will look to do well in all these competitions,” said Belmadi.

The Algerian was also looking at the next two matches as preparation for his team’s next Champions League match against Al Nassr. “Playing Umm Salal and Al Khor will be good preparations for our games against Al Nassr in the Champions League. The better we play against these teams, the better we do in the Champions League tie,” said Belmadi.
 



Umm Salal are currently in fifth place at the moment with 31 points and will harbour dreams of finishing the league in the top 4. They are currently four points off Sadd in fourth. Also snapping at their heels are Al Arabi (30 points) and Al Sailiya (28 points).

In their last match they ended up with a 4-4 draw against Al Gharafa and Salal Head Coach Bulent Uygun wants his team to do better in this match. “In our last game against Gharafa, we had a good game but couldn’t get the three points. We will try to do well in this match and get a better result,” said Uygun on Saturday.
 
Salal will miss the services of their strikers Mounir El Hamdaoui and Yannick Sagbo but Coach Uygun is confident that his bench will be able to step up. “We will miss the strikers but we will use the appropriate strategy to put forward our best offence. I have confidence in my players,” said Uygun.

As for their top 4 dreams, Uygun said that they were still in the hunt. “Our ambition is to be among the top 4 teams and we will do our best to realize that target. We know that the teams who are in front of us are strong. But we will continue to get maximum points to help us to get there,” he said.