(MENAFN- The Peninsula) chinthana wasala |
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Al Sadd will be craving for a victory but will have to push themselves to their limits when the Qatar football heavyweights meet Saudi side Al Hilal in a thrilling face-off in Group B at the prestigious King Salman Club Cup 2023 today. The clash is set to take place at 8pm the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Both teams are hungry for victory, aiming to secure maximum points and secure a coveted spot in the quarter-finals after each settling for a draw in their opening matches. Al Sadd locked horns with Wydad of Morocco in a nail-biting goalless draw, while Al Hilal faced a similar outcome against Libya's Al Ahli Tripoli.
Al Sadd head coach Bruno Miguel said he expects the encounter to be intense.
“We expect a difficult and intense encounter against Al Hilal. Having competed with Al Hilal's former coach in the Portuguese league, we know each other. I'll prepare my team appropriately, knowing that Al Hilal applies high pressure and denies the opponent space to manoeuvre.”
“We will fight on the field and play with a winning mentality. Al Hilal is a formidable team, and we'll compete to the best of our abilities. The results won't deter us, and what matters most is to exhibit an evolving mindset from one match to the next,” Miguel said.
In their first game, Al Sadd had to do without the services of prominent players Guilherme Torres, Paulo Ottavio, Gonzalo Plata, and Romain Saiss - due to fitness concerns, but the Portuguese coach remains optimistic that at least one of these star players will be available for today's pivotal clash. He added that he will field few new players.
"There will be new faces in the match against Al Hilal, but they will be on the substitutes' bench. Only fully fit players will participate in the game.”
Expectations are running high for Al Sadd's formidable lineup, including stars like Hassan Al Haydos, Akram Afif, Baghdad Bounedjah, Colombian sensation Matias Uribe, and the talented Boualem Khoukhi, among others. Their presence will undoubtedly be put to the test against the spirited Al Hilal.
Al Haydos, the captain of the team, emphasised the significance of the challenging encounter.
“The match on Sunday will undoubtedly be challenging, as we face a championship-winning team. We are eager to engage in these strong encounters to gain valuable experience, especially since we are at the beginning of the season,” Al Haydos said.
He continued,“Our aim is to deliver a powerful and commendable performance and secure the three points, God willing. In the first round, we admit that we didn't perform at our best against Wydad from Morocco. We missed the opportunity to capitalize on the numerical advantage after they received a red card, as they displayed a solid defensive setup and limited our spaces.”
Al Hilal, playing on home turf, is set to draw strength from their passionate supporters, who have shown unwavering loyalty in previous matches, particularly during the electrifying encounter against Al Ahli Tripoli.
In the day's first match, Morocco's Wydad and Al Ahli Tripoli will meet at the same venue, with the kick off set for 4 pm.