Match kick off will be at 19:45 at Lekhwiya stadium on Saturday October 31st

Al Arabi Head Coach Gianfranco Zola
This is the third game of three difficult fixtures that we knew we were going to play. The first one was against Lekhwiya where we did well. In the second one against Rayyan we did well but the result didn't go our way. Now we are facing Sadd. My team will try to play on the same level as we did in the last two games and try not to make mistakes which we did in the last two. 
 
When you play such big games it's always tough because of the strength of the teams. The opposition can take advantage of these mistakes and they will get the upper hand. We will focus on our strengths and know that Sadd will look to cause us a lot of problems. We have to be ready to face them.

When we play such big games, you don't need to say much to motivate the players. They have been dreaming of playing this game. I don't have to tell them - do your best against Rayyan. Players are naturally motivated. If you compete against teams like Sadd and you are not at your best then you will come up second best. The flip side is when players look at the game as if their reputation is at stake. Then you are thinking of trying to win the match on your own. That will be a mistake. You have to think about working together as a team and that's what will bring the victory.

I will be missing my my goalkeeper but I am a positive man. I value all the players that I have. But it's not the goalkeeper who will be going on the pitch. There will be 10 other players who will be there too. If we can help each other and play as a single unit, then we can overcome this issue.

I don't look at the Rayyan game as a loss for us. We lost 5-2. But I am not taking that result into consideration. Even with 10 men we still tried to chase the game and when you do that against Rayyan that's always going to be dangerous.

I don't think there will be any effect on us from that loss. The mistakes that we made are a consequence of inexperience, of not having such big teams. But as long as you make a mistake and learn from it, that's alright. The problem is when you repeat mistakes. If you would have asked at the beginning of the season if I would have accepted this position that the team is in currently, I would have gladly said yes. The team is still a work in progress and we will only get better.
 


Al Sadd Head Coach Hussein Ammota
Arabi - Sadd have always been tough games. This season it will be stronger. It's an important game. Arabi have had a good start and are playing in a more organised fashion. Simply put, the team that will play better will win.

The challenge is there when we play against a good team. All players like such games. The motivation is there. But we can't take too much pressure. We will give our maximum. If you make any mistakes against big teams then it will cost you.

In our draw against Khor, we saw a lot of chances being missed. Sometimes missing chances is good because then you try to create more. But we cannot afford to miss the number of chances that we did against Khor. For this match our players are motivated to produce a positive comeback and take all three points.

Ali Assad
It will be a tough game. We have known this all season. We are playing for all the titles on offer. We have the experience of playing such important games. We hope the fans will come and enjoy this battle.
 
This match remains the great derby as it was before. Arabi have changed a lot this season. And we expect it to be a keenly-contested affair.