Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 15 match against Al Rayyan.

“We are ready to take on Al Rayyan. Our preparation was not much different from how we usually prepare for our matches in the league. The team showed a good level in the last match (against Umm Salal), which contributed to clearing the minds of the players after the big loss to Al Duhail in the previous week. The playing level of the players also improved as the match wore on. Perhaps, the most important thing in the last match against Umm Salal was that our response as a team was good.

“The players did well in that match though I included five or six new players who showed good levels. I spoke to my players that we did not have substitutes in the last few rounds but now we have solutions to starting with our best side. The team plays well and creates many chances, but sometimes we are not lucky, or the goalkeeper of the opposing team on his day fights well,” said Marquez.

Al Wakrah player Ousmane Coulibaly said, “We know it will be a difficult match. We had two to three days to prepare for the match. I think we are preparing well and we will be ready.

“We have a number of new players who joined the team. We know that it is a difficult period for us because we lost a few matches, but we have a distinguished team with a great team spirit. The players are ready to return again to the path of victories. Al Rayyan are a good team and have high-level players. They have a new coach, but we believe in our ability to achieve a positive result in this match.”