Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez spoke to the media ahead of their 2019-20 QNB Stars League Week 16 match against Al Arabi.

“We do not consider Al Arabi match as a final, there are still seven games ahead of us, which we consider as finals. We cannot lose any points.

“A huge match is in front of us against a physically strong team, whose level has improved a lot recently. We, at Al Sadd, are ready and we will fight until the end of the season to win the league title.

“We have injuries and suspensions, but that is not an excuse. We will make the best efforts in all local and international tournaments that we play in, especially because we compete for all titles.

“Abdelkarim Hassan is one of the best players in Asia. He is still young. I think he can overcome all challenges and I am happy with his work. We missed him a lot during his absence from the team.

On his part, Abdelkarim Hassan said, “Facing Al Arabi is difficult. For that matter, all our upcoming matches are hard. It is a derby match. Al Arabi have improved a lot. We will give our best to win three points. This game will have a lot of pressure. We, players, like such matches and we are confident that our fans will support us to the hilt at the stadium.”