Match of the Week: Kick off 16:00 at Al Arabi stadium. Saturday November 21.

El Jaish Head Coach Sabri Lamouchi
“When have had a break of two weeks, it's difficult to start again. It becomes more difficult when you have to play a strong opponent like Arabi. They are a team with ambition to play for the top 4. It's going to be a difficult game against a team that has a good coach, who knows how to extract the maximum from his players. But we have belief in our abilities and we will give our maximum in this match.”

“I have analysed the weak points of Arabi, just like Zola will have done for Jaish. This game will require tactical discipline and concentration from the players. And my players will have to capitalise on the good phases during the game and also learn how to deal with the bad periods”

“It's better for me to have more options when it comes to players. It's a problem I don't mind having. I need to find the right balance which can help my team stay in this situation.  The break has made it difficult. We have lot of players with their respective national teams. This first game after the break will not be easy. It will be a big test to see if we have been able to utilise the break well.”
 


Al Arabi Head Coach Gianfranco Zola 
“The break gave us an opportunity to work on some aspects tactically. We had two tough games before the break. Against Al Sadd we played with nine players for 45 minutes. We needed to recharge our batteries and I think the break has been good for us. We have three players returning from national duty tomorrow. It has been a good 10 days of training for us.”

“There are four points that separate the two clubs. Also there are four points between Jaish and Rayyan. If we lose this game there will be a big distance between us and Rayyan and Jaish. So certainly it's a very important game when it comes to the standings. This match is also important because it's probably the last big team that we will play. It will be last big test for us. And it will be a tough test. Jaish are more like a European team. They are very compact and defend well. It will be a different test for my team and I think we have prepared well. We are ready for the challenge. I am putting a lot of attention on this game because this will also give us a chance to see where we are against a big team like Jaish.”

“There are two big teams playing, two teams in good form. There is a lot of attention on us. It will be a very entertaining match because both teams want to win. This will keep everybody on their feet. It will be a strong match.”