Meriem Guettat
Yesterday, Friday, Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez spoke at a press conference ahead of their QNB Stars League Week 13 fixture against Al Shahania SC, taking place tonight on Saturday 25th of January at 18:40 Doha time at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
“Everybody rates us as the favourites against Al Shahania, but we usually face problems in such games. I expect a difficult game. You have seen how we suffered in the previous match against Al Khor. Also against Qatar SC and Al Wakrah. So we expect that Al Shahania match will be difficult and also important for us." - Said Coach Xavi.
He added, "On our side, Gabi Fernandez, Tareq Salman, and Hamed Ismail will be absent because of injuries. They are very important for the team, but Al Sadd has good players to replace them,”
“We are required to work in the same manner and not to drop the performance in order to continue to compete for the title, especially after Al Rayyan lost against Al Gharafa, which gave us a good opportunity to take the lead. Our target is to retain the title despite the difficulty of the task because there is a difference in a lot of points with leaders Al Duhail."