Keen Contests On Cards As QSL Business End Begins On March 28

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The Qatar Stars League (QSL) will be back in action from Friday after a three-week international break – with more exciting contests and battle for the title heating up.
The 12-team league has only four games remaining for each side in this year's championship. Defending champions Al Sadd are currently second in the table just a point adrift of leaders and title contenders Al Duhail. Not just these two domestic giants but Al Gharafa are also in the mix being in third place with a tally of 37 points.
A slip by any of these teams will prove beneficial to their rivals in a big way. So there is little margin for error at the business end of the league. There is a similar contest in the relegation zone with Al Khor being bottom-placed with 7 points and hoping to notch a few wins to wriggle out of that dreaded spot.
In the play-off 11th spot are Umm Salal with 15 points while Al Arabi (22), Al Wakrah (21) and Qatar SC (21) also fear a fall being in 8th, 9th and 10th places respectively. With a fascinating scenario, all teams would go into week 19 matches hoping to get their plans working towards gaining positive results.
First up today in simultaneous kick-offs will be Al Shamal vs Al Shahania at Al Bayt Stadium, and Al Khor and vs Umm Salal at Al Janoub. Al Khor coach Salam Shaker, speaking to the media on Thursday, on eve of their match against Umm Salal, said they are still hopeful and have worked on the psychological aspect.
“It is very difficult to change the style of play in a short period of time, but we have worked on the players' psychological aspect. We will adopt a style that is in line with the team, the tasks and the players' duties, and we have worked extensively on it,” Shaker said.
“Since there is hope, we must fight until the end and never give up. The Umm Salal match may be our gateway to avoiding relegation. We have studied Umm Salal's strengths and weaknesses from all aspects. There will be no major changes and the team is ready for this match,” he added.
Al Shahania coach Jose Murcia while talking about their match against Al Shamal said they will do everything to gain more points.
“We took advantage of the long break to prepare for this important match against Al Shamal. It will be a direct game between two teams with similar positions and similar goals. Both teams are similar and each team is striving to win, so we will do everything we can to secure the three points.
“This is the most important match of the season. The players are ready and I have great confidence in them. We just have to maintain our focus and follow the instructions to achieve victory.”
He added:“We have a number of absences, most notably Muniesa, Francesco and Ali al-Amri, but our international players such as Alhassan Koroma, Shehab Ellethi and Moaz al-Wadia have recovered.”
On Saturday will see clashes between teams from the top four with Al Ahli meeting Al Rayyan, Qatar SC playing Al Arabi, Al Sadd up against Al Wakrah, and Al Gharafa facing Al Duhail.
Al Sadd will have many of their players returning to the squad after doing national team duty including star Akram Afif.
For Al Duhail, Almoez Ali will be back in action and the team will look to continue the fine form they have shown in the second half of the league so far.
Al Rayyan's Roger Guedes is at the top of goal-scorers' list with 16 goals followed by Al Sadd's Rafael Mujica (15), and Akram Afif (13). Al Ahli's Julian Draxler is fourth with a tally of 12 goals to his name.
With the big guns looking to fire now, this could well change in the coming days.
FIXTURES:
Friday (9pm Start): Al Khor vs Umm Salal at Al Janoub Stadium; Al Shamal vs Al Shahania at Al Bayt Stadium.
Saturday (9pm Start): Al Ahli vs Al Rayyan at Al Thumama Stadium; Qatar SC vs Al Arabi at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium; Al Gharafa vs Al Duhail at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium; Al Sadd vs Al Wakrah at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

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