Coaches Eye Wins in QNB Stars League Week 18

Doha, March 06 (QNA) - The coaches of the QNB Stars League underlined the necessity of achieving positive results in Week 18 matches. Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 18 match against Umm Salal. "It is an important clash for us. We are expected to officially win the league title. In this match, we can be the champions and this is our goal. We depend on ourselves to achieve this and we are happy to be in this position. "We are playing at our home stadium and are favourites to win, but everyone knows that Umm Salal are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Their coach Aziz Ben Askar works well in defence and he leads a team that fights and plays as a group and they have not conceded many goals in the league. "We suffered against them in the first leg match and we know it will be difficult because they need points and they are now in the relegation zone. So we expect them to close spaces in defence. "We want to win the league without defeat and if we win the three points in this match, we will be the champions, and it is impossible for you to have a stronger motivation than this. Umm Salal coach Aziz Ben Askar spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 18 match against Al Sadd. "Nobody needs to know the strength of Al Sadd. Everyone knows their team and we know that they are strong. We respect our identity and respect our plans. We need to respect work and preparation for this match. This means that we must be patient but fight against them. "Our team is currently in a difficult position and we are in the lower positions on the points table. Everyone is struggling to achieve his goals. We all know that the last matches of the league are difficult and we will remain in the highest degree of focus until the end in this match and we must do that. "Right now, we're going step by step and we need to focus on ourselves. It is not difficult for any coach to play against a team like Al Sadd as the incentive is there to do well. The players want to prove to everyone that we have prepared well. "Things were not easy for us in the last match as we played without three foreign players. As everyone knows, we, at Umm Salal, do not have a large group of players like Al Sadd and this is sometimes normal, and this is the difference between the big teams and other teams. Al Sadd won everything this season. As I said from the beginning, everything depends on us," said Ben Askar. Qatar SC coach Younes Ali spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 18 match against Al Arabi. "Al Arabi have been doing well of late and there has been great development in their team at the individual and collective levels, so that makes our task tough. "The match will undoubtedly be difficult. Al Arabi include a good group of players who have contributed towards their recent good performance. Were prepared for Al Arabi and we target three points. "The preparations we are making are good and we hope we will put up a strong show. The difficulty lies in the fact that Al Arabi have a last chance to catch up with the top four. We are looking to compensate for our drawn result (0-0 against Al Wakrah) in the last round and seek to be back on the winning path. "I am satisfied with the teams performance and what we have presented in the previous matches. Now is the time for results and we are seeking three points against Al Arabi to ensure we stay in the top-four bracket," said Younes. Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 18 match against Al Sailiya. "I am satisfied with my team's preparations for the Al Sailiya match. My players have gone through their training during the past days with intense focus, high quality and with a clear determination to collect the three points. We performed well in the last match against Qatar SC and came out with a draw even though we played with a man short for half an hour. "In football, if you are not able to win, it is necessary not to lose and this is what we did. In the last game, we faced a tough opponent. We need to win the next match against Al Sailiya because of our difficult position in the table and we know that we will face a very good team and it has a smart coach and most of its players have great experience. Therefore we need to have the highest degree of concentration to overcome this obstacle. "In the last match we played against Al Sailiya (in the league), we won it, but it was a difficult match because they have distinguished players in all lines. I expect this match to be difficult as well, but I have confidence in the abilities of Al Wakrah players to provide the required level," said Marquez. Al Sailiya assistant coach Amine Farikha spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 18 match against Al Wakrah. "We seek to finish among the top four, therefore there is no room for dropping any point and there is no substitute for winning. We must make all our efforts to achieve victory over Al Wakrah and collect the three points, despite the difficulty of the match because the opponent is going through a difficult period and seek to stay away from the danger zone. "We are sad about our loss to Al Arabi in the Amir Cup quarterfinals. The technical staff are keen to put it behind us and rectify the mistakes before facing Al Wakrah. Al Rayyan coach Laurent Blanc spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 18 match against Al Ahli. "It will be a difficult match that brings us together with Al Ahli. We will play to win and I think that this match is like all matches. Our goal is to win it. We have studied Al Ahli club well and we want to confirm what we want to repeat what we did against Al Kharaitiyat when we played well and retained ball possession. This is important. I hope the players understand that. The result of the last game is an incentive for the players. "Al Rayyan can win against Al Ahli and they can also win. I think that we can control the match as we did with Al Kharaitiyat. As I said to all the players and to the administrative staff, all the matches we play, whether they are against Al Sadd, Al Duhail or any of the championship team, we have to win it so we always play to win. "I always tell the players that the opponent must be respected, whether the teams at the top of the rankings table or the last of the rankings table. We are willing to respect the opponent as well. The team is ready, especially from a mental point of view," said Blanc. Al Ahli coach Nebojsa Jovovic spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 18 match against Al Rayyan. "I have great confidence in the ability of our players to produce the best results in the rest of the league matches. By beating Umm Salal in the last round, we got a big boost before the match against Al Rayyan. We can achieve a lot in the coming weeks and the result of our game against Al Rayyan will have a bearing on our teams position in the final table. "This match will not be easy, for sure, for Al Ahli players, but I have confidence in what my wards can offer on the field. I have prepared my team well for this match and I am happy with the current group of players. I am waiting for the them to show a strong level against Al Rayyan. "We must win our remaining matches if we are to end up in the top four. I hope our players will not have any problems in the match that will make the task difficult against Al Rayyan," said Jovovic. (QNA)