Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez spoke to the media ahead of their QNB Stars League Week 11 match against Al Rayyan.

“Facing Al Rayyan in the 11th round of QNB Stars League is difficult, like all games in the league. It is more so because Al Rayyan are one of the top sides.

“During the long break, we did what we should do during that period. We also played in the Ooredoo Cup and performed well in many games. All that contributed towards preparing the team in a strong way.

“The absence of Under-23 players from the team due to Olympic team duty makes our situation very difficult, especially since we depend on six players from that age category in our first team. But we respect rules.

“We are happy that we have enough players in the squad. But when you miss 50 per cent of the basic formation, it is undoubtedly a difficult situation. But we will deal with it and try to come up with a positive result. You will see a good formation of Al Wakrah against Al Rayyan,” said Marquez.