Alkass Digital
Moussa Marega is confident Al Hilal SFC will defeat Qatar’s Al Rayyan in the top of the table AFC Champions League™ 2022 Group A clash at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Wednesday.
Four wins and a draw have placed Al Hilal at the top of the standings with 13 points, with Al Rayyan three behind and needing a victory to have a good chance of qualifying for the Round of 16.
Marega, who has featured in three matches for Al Hilal, said the defending champions will bounce back with a win after dropping points against Sharjah on Matchday Five.
“We will be playing our last group stage match against Al Rayyan and it won’t be an easy encounter considering that they have still not qualified for the knockout stage,” said Marega. “We certainly have a good chance of winning. We are confident we can seal first place in the group and make the Al Hilal fans happy. That’s our aim tomorrow.
“The last game against Sharjah, we came back to draw 2-2. It shows what our team is capable of but I wasn’t satisfied with my performance. It was unfortunate I couldn’t score with the chances I had. Since the head coach (Ramon Diaz) joined, we have been winning most of our matches. The draw should motivate us to perform even better.”
Diaz will be spoilt for choice against Al Rayyan but the Argentinian said he will find the right balance for the tie against Nicolas Cordova’s side.
“We’re looking to cap off our run in this competition with a victory,” said Diaz. “We will be turning our attention to the domestic league soon. Our squad rotation has benefitted us but I will not compromise victory and will field my best 11.”
While Al Hilal easily qualified for the Round of 16, Al Rayyan need to defeat them to have a strong chance of advancing with a 4-0 winning margin securing the Qatar side top spot.
“We're not expecting an easy match against the best team in the group,” said Cordova. “But we’re looking forward to getting a positive result that will push us into the next round. So far our preparations have gone well and we want the players to be focused for the final game.
“We know that our qualification also depends on how the other teams fare but we are not thinking about what happens elsewhere. We can’t be affected and will need to be focused on ourselves.
“Playing against Al Hilal again is going to be totally different this time. We know what happened in the last outing (3-0 defeat). We are familiar with their style of play but we also have our own strengths. If scoring goals from set-pieces is our secret weapon, then so be it. The most important thing is victory tomorrow.”