All eyes will be on Al Sailiyah today to see if the surprise league leaders can continue their brilliant performances when they travel to Al Khor, and with only three points separating the top six teams things can change dramatically for the top sides this weekend.
The top game on Saturday will see seven-time champions Al Gharrafa facing two-time winners Lekhwiya. Both sides were in great form lately and the game promises to be a cracker. Al Gharafa's Miku and Lisandro Lopez shined against Al Rayyan last week while Sebastian Soria scored a brace in a 5-1 victory for Lekhwiya over Muaither.
25/10/2013
Al Khor Stadium, 18:15 QT
Al Khor vs. Al Sailiyah
Surprise league leaders Al Sailiyah will travel to Al Khor hoping to continue their historic start to the season and extend their unbeaten run to six matches.Sami Al Trabelsi’s side are playing with an attractive attacking-style aided by the in-form trio of Moumoni Dagano, Yves Ilunga Diba and Fawzi Ayesh. Their Most impressive results this season were defeating Al Rayyan 5-1 and holding former champions Lekhwiya to a 3-3 draw.
Al Khor are still looking for their first win this season, after a single defeat and four draws. With their Brazilian forward Bruno Mineiro out for at least six months with a broken leg injury, Al Khor only scored three goals in five matches, with two of them coming last week in the 2-2 draw with Al Arabi.
Al Wakrah Stadium, 18:15 QT
Al Wakrah vs. Al Sadd
Al Wakrah vs. Al Sadd
QSL defending champions will be hoping to return to the top of the table when they travel to second-placed Al Wakrah tonight.
Al Wakrah are still unbeaten and are second in the table only on goal difference from league leaders Al Sailiyah, while Al Sadd are lurking behind in third spot one point behind.
Last week Al Sadd registered their biggest win this season when they demolished Qatar SC 4-0, while Al Wakrah ended an impressive three-match winning streak with a 1-1 away draw against Al Jaish.
Al Wakrah’s Brazilian striker Michel Souza is in top form and currently leads the league’s top scorers’ list with five goals.
Khalfan Ibrahim was Al Sadd’s top performer this season with four goals, with Spanish legend Raul Gonzalez and Brazilian striker Leandro Da Silva are yet to show their full potential.
Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium, 18:15 QT
Qatar SC vs. Al Arabi
Qatar SC vs. Al Arabi
Last week, the Kings stumbled to a 4-0 defeat against Al Sadd, their first league defeat in what was also their first real test this season, while Al Arabi were held at home 2-2 by Al Khor.
The visitors will be without their Algerian playmaker Karim Ziani who picked up a thigh injury during training yesterday, and that means Jesus Meza can return to the starting line-up for the first time in a more than a month. The former Venezuela international was not included in the first team by German coach Uli Stielke to make way for Algeria’s Khoukhi Boualem who is registered as the Reserve team’s foreign player.
Suhaim bin Hamad, 20:30 QT
Umm Salal vs. Umm Salal
Umm Salal vs. Umm Salal
Four defeats in five matches have put Al Rayyan in 13thposition only one-point above the bottom of the table Umm Salal. This week the two sides will clash knowing that a defeat will only mean a guarantee of the bottom spot by the end of this round.
Anger is spreading among the fans of one of the most-supported clubs in the country, and a defeat against Umm Salal might cost the under-pressure Diego Aguirre his coaching role at Al Rayyan.
Last week against Al Gharrafa, the team played a good game and could have earned at least a draw, but defensive blunders and the inexperience of some young players in the side made them pay dearly. In addition, Nilmar was in poor form and Rodrigo Tabata was not at his best lately, and when these two stars fail to deliver it is difficult to expect good results from “The Lions”.
Umm Salal sacked their French coach Alain Perrin at the end of last month, and replaced him with his fellow countryman Gerard Gili.
Gili made an impressive debut holding defending champions Al Sadd to a 4-4 draw, but that was followed with a 3-1 defeat against Al Ahli last week that sent the team to the bottom of the table.
26/10/2103
Al Khor Stadium, 18:15 QT
Al Khurtiyath vs. Al Ahli
Al Khor Stadium, 18:15 QT
Al Khurtiyath vs. Al Ahli
Al Ahli notched their first victory this season when the defeated Umm Salal 3-1 last week to move from bottom to fifth in the table.
Veteran striker Waleed Hamza was on target in the last two games and if he kept showing this form, he might have a chance of returning to the national team.
Al Khurtiyath will hope for a positive result that will end a three-match losing streak that saw them slipping down to seventh place.
Thani bin Jassim Stadium, 18:15 QT
Muaither vs. Al Jaish
Muaither vs. Al Jaish
QSL debutants Muaither made the perfect start for their season defeating Umm Salal 2-1 in the opening round, but that proved to be their only victory as they suffered three defeats and draw 1-1 with Al Ahli in the next four rounds. They are suffering defensively as they conceded eight goals in the past two games.
Al Jaish are fourth in the table, still undefeated, and have the best defense in the league with only two goals conceded.
19-year-old Mohammed Muntari is in great form, with three goals in five games, including a worthy winner in a 1-0 victory over Al Sadd.
Thani bin Jassim Stadium, 20:30 QT
Al Gharrafa vs. Lekhwiya
Al Gharrafa vs. Lekhwiya
A great clash between two in-form teams who share five of the last six QSL titles. Al Gharrafa dominated the local scene between 2007-2010, before Lekhwiya broke their dominance in the 2010-11 season and clinched two successive titles.
Last week a great performance from the new attacking duo of Lisandro Lopez and Miku helped Al Gharrafa to an emphatic 3-1 victory over Al Rayyan. The leopards’ first win this season after four consecutive draws eased the pressure on their Brazilian coach Zico.
Eric Gerets’ Lekhwiya will face their first real test this season. They have been picking up form lately and registered two impressive home wins over Al Arabi 4-1 and Muaither 5-1.
The Leopards will be without their Brazilian playmaker Nene’ who is suspended after receiving a red card in the game against Al Rayyan.
Last season’s top scorer Sebastian Soria seems to have found his form as he scored his first goals of the season in last week’s 5-1 win over Muaither, and his team can also welcome back their brilliant Tunisian attacking midfielder Yousef Msakni who missed the game against Muaither through injury.