Umm Salal coach Talal El Karkouri spoke to the media ahead of their QNB Stars League Week 21 match against Al Rayyan.

“Al Rayyan are doing good in the AFC Champions League though they suffered some setbacks in the QNB Stars League. Naturally, they are tough opponents. They are changing players from game to game.

“It is very crucial for us to win the next two games if we have to finish among the top four. We cannot lose or draw and wait for Al Gharafa’s results. We must play well week in and week out.

“I am expecting Al Rayyan to field their best eleven. They may play with 60 per cent of their main players also because of fatigue resulting from their Asian engagements.

“They have many young players in their ranks. I was away from Qatar for two years, so I could not keep track of them much. We have not decided whether to go all out or take a defensive approach. I will take a call on that only after seeing how the opponents (Al Rayyan) play even though we badly need three points. We will adopt a wait-and-watch approach,” said El Karkouri.