The QNB Stars League’s seventh round will see six teams in action on Friday. The matches will be Al Rayyan vs Qatar SC (Al Sadd Stadium 17:15), Al Gharafa vs Al Markhiya (Al Gharafa Stadium 17:15) and Al Khor vs Al Duhail (Al Khor Stadium 19:25).

Al Rayyan vs Qatar SC

Al Rayyan and Qatar SC will feature in the highlight of Round 7 matches. Al Rayyan are just back from their famous victory over Al Sadd in the ‘Qatar Clasico’ while Qatar SC crashed to their fifth loss, this time to Al Sailiya by a big margin.

The teams go into the Match of the Week at the Al Sadd Stadium in contrasting moods. Al Rayyan tremendously boosted their morale by eking out a 2-1 victory over Al Sadd, while Qatar SC, once a powerhouse in the country with a big fan base, suffered a 1-5 agony at the hands of Al Sailiya.

Al Rayyan have 15 points and are placed third, but Qatar SC are at the bottom of the standings. If the likes of in-form striker Abderrazak Hamdallah, Rodrigo Tabata and Sebastian Soria have their way, then Qatar SC will once again be at the receiving end.

Incidentally, Al Rayyan and Qatar SC have lifted the Qatar league shield eight times each. 

Al Gharafa vs Al Markhiya

Al Gharafa are fresh from their gutsy display against holders and leaders Al Duhail. It was a totally different Al Gharafa, who had lost to Al Kharaitiyat in the previous round by a big margin.

Slovakian forward Vladimir Weiss was in outstanding form for The Cheetahs, who have been infamous for their inconsistency this season. They have only one win, over Al Khor, so far and will be keen to bag full points when they host Al Markhiya.

Newcomers Al Markhiya are also in a happy mood as they had played out a goalless draw with Al Kharaitiyat. The Oryxes are again coached by Yousef Adam, replacing Egyptian Ayman Mansour, and that has enhanced the spirit among the players.

Al Khor vs Al Duhail

Al Khor are famous for bringing out extraordinary performances when they play on home turf. And that is what concerns Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi. The Algerian had admitted it at the pre-match press conference.

It will be the first match for Omar Najhi as Al Khor coach, having replaced Frenchman Laurent Banide following a series of negative results. Last week’s loss to Umm Salal was the immediate provocation.

As always, current top scorer Youssef El Arabi (11 goals), Youssef Msakni, Nam Tae-Hee and Luis Martin Junior lead Al Duhail’s charge.