In the strongest and fiercest opening of the nineteenth round of the Doha Bank Stars League, the Khalifa World Cup Stadium tonight witnesses the heated football clash that brings together Al Arabi and Al Sadd, which is the confrontation and derby that the fans of the two clubs, as well as fans of Qatari football, have been waiting for, and which comes under very difficult circumstances for each team, as Al Sadd received an unprecedented football shock by losing by five to Umm Salal last round, while Al Arabi lost two expensive points by tying with Al Ahly. The match will start at half past nine, and Al-Arabi will play it with 25 points in sixth place and has a postponed match with Al-Shamal, and Al-Sadd is in first place with 38 points, and in the first division Al-Arabi won 3-1.
The summit had all the factors for success and all the factors for ignition. Al Sadd does not only want victory and revenge for its loss in the first division. It does not want victory to get one step closer to the title for the third season in a row, but it wants victory in order to reconcile its fans who were shocked by the five-year loss to Umm Salal. Al-Arabi, by losing two points in a draw with Al-Arabi, has become in a difficult position in qualifying for the semi-finals, and has no choice but to defeat Al-Zaeem and win the upcoming matches. Therefore, the confrontation will be on a hot plate and will be a pinnacle of excitement.
It can be said that Al-Sadd paid a heavy price for the mistakes of its defense, which appeared for the first time almost far from its level, and its lines were open in an unprecedented manner in front of the Umm Salal attack, which arrived easily and scored five goals and was able to add more goals and increase the suffering of the Saddam.
Al-Arabi, in turn, wants to reconcile with its fans, even if it must first exploit opportunities and not be satisfied with advancing with a single goal, as it will be easy for it to lose its victory, whether by a draw or a loss.
Mancini: Fully prepared
Al-Sadawi coach Roberto Mancini stressed the importance of facing Al-Arabi within the nineteenth week of the Doha Bank Stars League, for the 2025-2026 season, in the match that will be held on Tuesday evening at Khalifa International Stadium.
Mancini spoke during the press conference: The next match against Al-Arabi will be very difficult. It is a strong match and we must be fully prepared to achieve victory.
He added: We are not happy with the result of the last match, but this feeling must be the opposite for the players, and we must do our best to get the three points.
Kuzmin: Our goal is clear
Cosmin Contra, Al-Arabi coach, stressed the importance of the confrontation against Al-Sadd, saying: A confrontation that requires special mental preparation from us. We respect Al Sadd as a big and leading team, but our goal is clear, which is to return to the winning path and make up for the recent results.
He added: Al-Sadd’s recent loss does not mean its decline, but rather it will make it enter the match with a strong desire to compensate, which requires us to be completely cautious and have high defensive discipline. During training, we worked to address offensive shortcomings to ensure that half-chances were taken advantage of in front of the opponent’s goal. The players realize the importance of this match, and we will enter the match with only the slogan of victory.