In the featured game of the week Umm Salal will take on Al Gharafa at the Suheim bin Hamad stadium on Saturday 13th Dec 18:30.Last round Umm Salal managed a draw with Al Khor (3-3) whilst Al Gharafa suffered their heaviest defeat of the season to Al Wakrah (6-1). Therefore both teams have motivation to get their form back on track in round 14.
Al Gharafa are currently in third spot with 23 points, they have played 13 won 7, drawn 2 and lost 4. Whilst Umm Salal are in 7th position in the Qatar Stars League with 5 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses.
Paqueta will have to pick up his troops after a terrible defeat at the hands of Al Wakrah and it will be even tougher as Umm Salal have more strength and depth in their squad and one of the best defenses in the league conceding just 11 goals. The only other team with a better defensive record is Lekhwiya.
Key players
The young Qatari Abdulghani Morad is quickly making a name for himself this season and is scoring a lot more regularly too. Of course Nene and Lisandro Lopez will also play their part too.
For Umm Salal defensive midfielder Ahmed Abdelmaqsoud is their key player, a versatile and clever player who breaks up attacks with ease and at the same time starts a devastating counter attack with his great vision. In addition Jérémie Aliadière and Turkish playmaker Tuncay Şanlı are also key players to watch out for.
Match analysis
Although Al Gharafa is third in the league, they have a goal difference of minus 1, which means they often win goals with a 1 goal margin. This is something that Paqueta will have to work on if he wants his team to still be around the podium places come the end of the season.
For Umm Salal too their goals scored are the third lowest with just 15 goals in the league but they have a goal difference of plus 4. In addition the boys in orange have also drawn too many matches (5).
This will be a close contest as neither side is the most attacking but the difference is that Gharafa generally knows how to hold onto a lead.
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