Al Gharafa face Umm Salal in Week 20 of the 2023-2024 Expo Stars League at the Thani bin Jassim Stadium of Al Gharafa club on Sunday, April 7, 2024. The kick-off is at 9:30pm.

Al Gharafa will enter the match with great motivation as title contenders and in second position with 40 points, three behind leaders Al Sadd, while Umm Salal are in ninth place with 20 points.

Both teams will enter the match with a common motivation to win because they both seek to earn the maximum points. Al Gharafa know fully well that they are facing a rival coming from a loss and want to stage a comeback to save themselves from entering the danger zone because of the small points difference between them and the teams battling relegation.

Also, Al Gharafa are coming off a series of victories, the last of which was a 1-0 win at the expense of Al Arabi, and seek to continue in their chase of leaders Al Sadd.

Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins is looking for more points in the coming rounds and therefore he has no choice but to defeat Umm Salal, as he knows the strength and desire of The Orange Fortress to return to winning ways. Martins relies on star players including Ferjani Sassi, Yacine Brahimi, Ahmed Alaaeldin and Seydou Sano.

On the other hand, Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron realizes that he is in a difficult situation as a result of the team’s decline in recent fixtures, having not achieved any victory since the 15th round when they won 2-1 against Al Ahli, then drew one match and lost three afterwards, the last of which was a 1-2 loss against Muaither in Week 19.

So the Al Gharafa match is very important for Umm Salal and Carteron will push all available players who are ready, including Oussama Tannane who recently returned from suspension.