Round 22 of the QSL season will see third placed Al Rayyan take on fifth place Al Gharafa in what promises to be a fascinating Match of the Week encounter. Both sides play an entertaining brand of possession based football under their respective coaches, and the tie at Al Sadd stadium on Friday evening is certainly one to watch.

Al Rayyan have been on a fantastic run of form in the league since the start of the new year, remaining undefeated in the league and registering seven victories in eight QSL matches. Last time out The Lions comfortably defeated relegation threatened Muaither 5-0. More heartening for Michael Laudrup was the fact that his attacking trio of Rodrigo Tabata, Sebastian Soria and Sergio Garcia all got on the scoresheet in the victory.

Rayyan will be taking on Al Wahda midweek in the AFC Champions League, and that could see the side change for the visit of Al Gharafa just three days later. One player who could benefit from these changes could be young Lions attacker Ahmed Alaaeldin, the Qatar Youth international started on the bench last time out against Muaither and could be in line for a starting berth on Friday evening.

As for Al Gharafa, they returned to winning was last time out registering a 1-0 win over Al Khor. A Krisztián Németh penalty early in the first half was enough for all three points for Pedro Caixina’s side. Gharafa certainly didn’t convince in the tie, with Al Khor creating the majority of the chances, but that will be of little interest to Caixina who saw his side pick up all three points for the first time in four QSL matches.

One positive for Caixina was his side’s defensive stability, central to that has been the consistent performances of defender Rashid Sumaila. The loanee from Al-Qadsia in Kuwait has settled in central defense and has been one of the stand out players in the side in recent weeks. The big Ghanian will have to be at his very best if Gharafa are to hold out against one of the most deadly attacks in the QSL.

It certainly promises to be a fascinating tactical encounter when Al Rayyan take on top four chasing Al Gharafa in the QSL match of the week for round 22. You can pick up tickets for the tie here. 
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