The eighth round of QSL action kicks off on Thursday afternoon, and involves four sides who will be looking to improve their fortunes in the league. The first match of the weekend will see Al Shahania take on Al Wakrah at Al Arabi stadium.

The Oryxes have seen a downturn in their form since head coach Jose Fernando picked up the coach of the month award for September/October. Two defeats against title chasing Al Sadd and El Jaish, would have gone some way in dampening the confidence for his squad. However Al Shahanaia will be taking on the side who are currently marooned at the bottom of the QSL standings.

Jose Fernando will be hoping leading goal scorer Mohamed Tiaïba can find the back of the net against the Blue Waves. The summer signing from Algeria has hit the ground running in the QSL this season, and Fernando will know that if Tiaïba can find the back of the net, Shahania have a strong chance of nabbing all three points.

As for Al Wakrah, they claimed a solid point in their 1-1 draw with Al Sadd last time out. New head coach Kais Yâakoubi has only been with the club for a week now, and has already laid down a marker getting a result against title chasing Al Sadd.

Yâakoubi will be targeting a win in this tie and will be hoping attacker Mouhcine Moutouali can be amongst the goals again. The Moroccan attacker kept his composure to slot away a last-gasp equalizer against Sadd, and the former Raja Casablanca man will have to be at his best if Wakrah are to pull off a result.

 The late kick off at 18:10 will see Al Khor take on Al Gharafa at Khor stadium. The hosts Al Khor come into the game off the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat to Muaither and will be eager to claim the scalp of a Al Gharafa who are now unbeaten in five QSL games.  Khor coach Jean Fernandez will be hoping for a strong defensive display and will be hoping Brazilian defender Wellington can be the difference maker.

As for Al Gharafa, they are up in fifth place in the QSL standings and have yet to taste defeat in five QSL games. Pedro Caixina believes his side is in good form at the moment and that was certainly underlined in their 4-2 win over Al Arabi last time out. All action midfielder Kooky Han has been quiet in recent weeks, and Caixina will be expecting a performance from the South Korean international.