Ooredoo Cup Round 5 Preview

Doha, November 09 (QNA) - Al Arabi face Al Kharaitiyat in the opening match of the fifth and final round (Group B) of 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup at the Al Arabi Stadium on Monday. Al Arabi are placed second in the group with eight points (two victories and as many draws). They had beaten Al Ahli 5-1 and Umm Salal 3-0 before being held 1-1 by Al Rayyan and goalless by Al Gharafa. Al Kharaitiyat are currently third in the group with six points that they have from their victories over Al Rayyan (4-1) and Al Ahli (2-0) in the first two rounds. Al Kharaitiyat then lost 1-3 to Al Gharafa and 1-2 to Umm Salal. In group (B) also, Umm Salal are set face Al Rayyan at the Al Arabi Stadium on Monday evening. Umm Salal are fifth in Group B with four points that they bagged from their 1-1 draw with Al Ahli and 2-1 win over Al Kharaitiyat in the last round. The Orange Fortress had lost 0-2 to Al Gharafa and 0-3 to Al Arabi. Umm Salal and Al Rayyan both are on same number of points, but the latter are placed ahead on better goal difference (-3 as against Umm Salals -4). Al Rayyan, after opening their account only in Round 3 following their 1-1 draw with Al Arabi, registered their first win in the last round when they defeated Al Ahli 2-0. The Lions had lost 1-4 to Al Kharaitiyat and 0-2 to Al Gharafa. In the same group, Al Ahli will face Al Gharafa the Al Khor Stadium on Monday. Al Gharafa defeated Umm Salal and Al Rayyan by an identical 2-0 margin in the first two rounds, and beat Al Kharaitiyat 3-1 in Round 3 before being held goalless by Al Arabi. Meanwhile Al Ahli are languishing at the bottom of the group with only one point that they earned from their 1-1 draw with Umm Salal. The team had lost their matches to Al Arabi (1-5) and Al Kharaitiyat (0-2) and Al Rayyan (0-2). Al Ahli have a tough task on hand when they take on Al Gharafa, who have the most number of victories (three) in the tournament and are topping the group with 10 points. As for Group (A), Al Wakrah will play against Al Sadd in the fifth and final round of the 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup at the Qatar SC Stadium on Monday evening. Al Wakrah are topping the group standings with eight points (two victories and as many defeats). The Blue Wave beat Al Khor 2-1 and Al Duhail 3-1, while they drew 1-1 with Qatar SC and 2-2 with Al Sailiya in the last round. Reigning champions Al Sadd are on a high after beating defending QNB Stars League champions Al Sadd 3-0 in a postponed match from Round 1 that was played on 7th November. Nam Tae-Hee, Saoud Al Nasr and Rodrigo Tabata were the scorers for Al Sadd, who rose to second position in the group with seven points. The game was postponed owing to both teams' campaigns in the 2020 AFC Champions League. Al Sadd's other victory was against Al Khor (1-0). The Wolves had played out a 4-4 draw with Al Sailiya, while they lost 2-3 to Qatar SC. At the Qatar SC's Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium on Monday Qatar SC will face Al Sailiya in the fifth round (Group A) of the tournament Qatar SC are placed fifth in the group with four points, one point less than fourth-placed Al Sailiya. The Kings have one victory, a draw and two defeats against their name. They lost 0-2 to Al Khor and 0-1 to Al Duhail after beating holders Al Sadd 3-2 following their campaign-opening 1-1 draw with Al Wakrah. Al Sailiya have one win, two draws and a defeat. The Peregrines lost 1-5 to Al Khor, defeated Al Duhail 3-1, and drew 4-4 with reigning champions Al Sadd and 2-2 with Al Wakrah in the last round. Wrapping up the fifth and final round (Group A) of 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup, Al Khor will face Al Duhail at the Al Khor Stadium on Monday. Al Khor are placed third with six points (two victories and as many losses), behind Al Wakrah and Al Sadd. They had started off their campaign in grand style by beating Al Sailiya 5-1, but they suffered a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Al Wakrah in Round 2. However, The Knights bounced back with a 2-0 win over Qatar SC in Round 3, only to lose 0-1 to reigning champions Al Sadd. Al Duhail, lying last in the group with three points, are coming off a 0-3 defeat they suffered at the hands of Al Sadd in a 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup's postponed match from Round 1 and played at the Qatar SC Stadium on 7th November. The Red Knights had lost to Al Sailiya and Al Wakrah by an identical 1-3 margin. They only have their 1-0 win over Qatar SC to show for their efforts. All teams have the chance to reach the knockout quarterfinals. (QNA)