Al-Sadd coach Felix Sanchez has emphasised the difficulty of the upcoming clash against Umm Salal in Week 4 of the Ooredoo Stars League.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Sanchez said: “As all the games in the league, this game will be difficult. Umm Salal have been challenging in the three games so far this season.”
“Given the circumstances, they are a very difficult team to play against. Let’s see how the players arrive from the national team, how we can prepare and which players are available for the game.
The coach added: “I hope everyone is ready and looking forward to restarting the league. This is, of course, a very important competition for us.”
Referring to the preparation for the game without the national team players, Sanchez said: “We spent many days without a lot of players and we worked with the ones that were here. Obviously, the rest will join now but some players will only get a day of training before the game since they’re still not here yet.”
“We have to play another game just three days after at the Emirates. It will not be easy to prepare for both the games as they will be tough.
“But I’m confident in the players to be ready and give their best to perform well.”
Meanwhile, Al-Sadd left-back Paulo Otavio stated that his side is going for the win and fully focused on the match against Umm Salal.
“It is going to be a tough game as Umm Salal are a good team. Let’s see what will happen on Friday night, but we are Al Sadd and we are going for all three points.
He added: “In my view, we must forget the previous three games. It has already been three weeks and it will be like starting the league again.
“We must start well against Umm Salal. Of course, we have another game on Monday but the focus should be on the Friday’s game.”
