Alkass Digital
The second round of the Qatar Football League (QNB Stars League) 2021/2022 holds strong and exciting confrontations, as Al Arabi will be in a difficult and early test against Al Duhail, while Qatar Club will clash with its counterpart Al Sadd, and Al Ahly hosts Al Gharafa in an awaited football summit.
The matches of the second round of the league will be played over two days, and the kick-off will be given Thursday with three matches, where Al Shamal will play Al Sailiya, Al Arabi will meet with Al Duhail, and Qatar will face Al Sadd, the matches of this round will be concluded Friday In three matches as well, Al Wakra will play Al Rayyan, and Umm Salal will play with Al Khor. as for the final match, it will be with Al Ahly and Al Gharafa.
Al Shamal will face Al Sailiya at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Thursday, Al Shamal, who are back in the First Division after six seasons by winning the Second Division League last season (2020-2021), had started their campaign on a losing note, having lost 0-2 to Al Gharafa so Al Shamal, under the tutelage of Moroccan coach Hisham Jadrane, will be keen to get their campaign on track.
Al Sailiya, who had to settle for ninth place in the league last season, too started off on a losing note after they were beaten 2-0 by reigning champions Al Sadd in Week 1, the Peregrines, coached by Tunisian Sami Trabelsi for the ninth consecutive season, are seeking a top-four finish this time, so a keen contest is on cards, both teams have outstanding players to deliver the goods.
As for the second confrontation, during which the Al Arabi and Al Duhail teams will meet at Khalifa International Stadium, Al Arabi, who had finished seventh in last seasons QNB Stars League, started off well this time by beating Al Wakrah 1-0, with Gabonese striker Aaron Boupendza scoring the all-important goal.
Al Arabi, under new coach and former Qatar international Younes Ali who replaced Icelander Heimir Hallgrimsson, has strengthened their ranks with a spate of new recruitments and they will be keen to prove quite a handful for Al Duhail, who ended up runners-up last season.
Al Arabi also have the likes of Aron Gunnarsson, Ahmed Fathi, Abdullah Marafi and Mehrdad Mohammadi. However, they will miss injured Spanish defender Marc Muneisa.
Al Duhail, coached by Portuguese Luis Castro who replaced Frenchman Sabri Lamouchi ahead of this season, had bounced back from being down by an early goal to beat Al Khor 4-1 in Week 1, Michael Olunga (double), Ismail Mohammed and Khaled Mohammed were the scorers, Al Duhail also boast of players such as Ferjani Sassi and Edmilson Junior.
In the third match of the second round of the Qatari league, Qatar SC face Al Sadd at Khalifa International Stadium, it is a foregone conclusion that the match-up will evoke keen interest, given the reputation, tradition and star cast of both teams.
It will also be a tactical battle for supremacy between coaches Xavi Hernandez (Al Sadd) and Ze Ricardo (Qatar SC).
Qatar SC, who missed out on the top-four bracket by a whisker last season, did not get a bright start this time as The Kings were held goalless by Al Ahli in Week 1, on the other hand, Al Sadd began their title defense in style by beating Al Sailiya 2-0, with goals coming from Boulame Khoukhi and Rodrigo Tabata.
Al Sadd lifted the coveted league shield last season by being the only unbeaten side. The Wolves topped the table with 60 points from 22 matches, winning 19 and drawing three.
The first-leg match between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw and Al Sadd defeated Qatar SC 3-0 in the second leg.
Al Ahli will face Al Gharafa in int the fourth match of the second round at Al Gharafa Stadium on Friday, Al Ahli and Al Gharafa renew their rivalry from last year when both teams ended up with 33 points and the latter were placed fourth on better goal difference (+7 as against Al Ahlis -10).
Al Ahli started their campaign this year with a goalless draw against Qatar SC, while Al Gharafa defeated promoted side Al Shamal 2-0, with goals coming from Ahmed Al Janehi and Moyad Hassan.
The Brigadiers, who have retained Montenegrin coach Nebojsa Jovovic, will look to open their account, whereas Al Gharafa will eye another three points.
Al Gharafa, coached by Italian Andrea Stramaccioni, are a traditional powerhouse in Qatar football with many titles and honours to their credit. The Cheetahs will look to finish among the top four this time as well and that will make the contest enticing.
The large fan base of both teams will add spice to the contest.
In another match Al Wakrah face Al Rayyan Khalifa International Stadium on Friday, Al Wakrah, in the third season in top-flight since graduating from the Second Division, could not start on a winning note as they lost 0-1 to Al Arabi, who rode on the goal scored by their new recruit, Gabonese striker Aaron Boupendza.
Al Wakrah under Spaniard Marquez Lopez, will be eager to lift their performance sooner rather than later in their bid to better their eighth-place finish in last season's QNB Stars League.
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan, who drew 2-2 with Umm Salal in Week 1, are looking ahead to win silverware this season.
Frenchman Laurent Blanc knows the task will not be easy for their wards, who had finished in third place in last season's QNB Stars League.
The team received a boost ahead of the game as their Cameroonian defender Franck Kom got his red-card suspension revoked by the Disciplinary Committee of the Qatar Football Association.
Umm Salal will face Al Khor Khalifa International Stadium on Friday, Umm Salal, who finished 10th in the last two seasons, started off by holding Al Rayyan to a 2-2 draw in Week 1 of the tournament.
coached this season by Brazilian Sergio Farias who replaced Moroccan Aziz Ben Askar, would certainly want to stay away from the danger zone as they stared at relegation last time around.
Umm Salal have made many changes this season at the level of players as well as they seek a turnaround in their fortunes.
Al Khor, meanwhile, started well against last season's runners-up Al Duhail by scoring an early goal, but they went down 1-4.
Al Khor, who have retained the services of German coach Winfried Schafer, had better settle into their stride sooner if they are to avoid the ignominy of playing the Relegation Play-Off for the third season in a row.