The QSL weekend will kick off on Thursday evening with two matches of importance for all sides involved. Relegation is on the line when Al Kharaitiyat welcome Al Sailiya to Al Khor stadium in the 16:40 KO. Both sides are seperated by four points in the league, and Al Kharaitiyat know that only a victory can put pressure on the sides above them.

Last time out Al Kharaitiyat managed to stop the rot of three straight defeats in the league by drawing 0-0 with Umm Salal. Three points will be much needed for the Thunders who could be cut off from safety by six points if results don’t go their way. Al Kharaitiyat will be hoping for a big performance from Uzbek winger Sanzhar Tursunov who has been one of the sides leading players in recent weeks.

As for Al Sailiya they know that a win will settle any relegation fears that the Peregrines squad may have. Sami Trabelsi’s boys managed a creditable 1-1 draw with an out of sorts El Jaish side last time out. Sailiya are currently on a three game undefeated streak in the league, and will be targeting to maintain their form. January signing Sanjar Shaakhmedov grabbed his first goal for the side against Jaish, and the Uzbek midfielder will be looking to add to his tally against Al Kharaitiyat. 

The last match of the day is the spotlight match involving two of the most popular teams in Qatar when Al Arabi welcome Al Gharafa to Al Arabi stadium on Thursday evening. Both sides haven’t enjoyed the best starts to 2017, with Al Arabi and Al Gharafa picking up only one win each from their last five QSL games.  A victory on Thursday evening would go some way to improve either clubs fortunes as we head into the final six games of the season.