Lekhwiya head coach Michael Laudrup is struggling to name his starting line-up for the club’s AFC Champions League Round of 16 meeting with fellow Qatari giants Al Sadd on Tuesday.
 
The two teams face off in a re-run of Friday’s semi-final in the Emir’s Cup, which Al Sadd won 2-0 to qualify for the final and deny Lekhwiya the opportunity of completing the domestic league and cup double. 

Lekhwiya won the Qatar Stars League title by five points from Al Sadd but have only beaten the former AFC Champions League winners once in four meetings so far this season.

However former Barcelona and Real Madrid legend Laudrup believes the impressive form of his players will make picking his starting 11 a difficult challenge ahead of the clash at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. 

“All our players have had great performances recently and this will make it hard for me to make a decision about the starting line-up,” said the Dane. “Al Sadd are going to give us a hard time, but I’m hoping that we can defeat them.”

Defender Mohammed Tresor will be available for selection for Laudrup after missing the 3-1 win over Al Nassr on Matchday Six of the group stages due to suspension.

Lekhwiya won Group A ahead of Iran’s Persepolis and will host the second leg of the meeting with Al Sadd but while the all-Qatar clash means the nation will have one team in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, Laudrup was hoping the sides would meet later in the tournament. 

“Our players are ready mentally and physically for the match,” he said. “The match tomorrow is very important as the two sides had impressive performances in the competition as we finished on top of our group whilst Al Sadd are the runners-up in their group. 

“Therefore, everything means that the match will not be easy and the fans will expect an interesting encounter. 

“Qatar will definitely have a team in the quarter-finals but I personally hoped not to have this match so early in the competition.”




Khalfan Ibrahim could return for Al Sadd as the former AFC Champions League winners prepare to host fellow Qataris Lekhwiya in the first leg of their Round of 16 meeting on Tuesday. 
 
Ibrahim, who was named AFC Player of the Year in 2006 and nominated for the award last year, missed the final round of group matches plus the meeting between the two teams in the semi-final of the Emir’s Cup on Friday with a hip injury.

Al Sadd won that clash 2-0 to qualify for the final of the domestic knockout competition and Sadd head coach Hussein Ammota is hoping his team can repeat the performance on Tuesday.

“There is no doubt that we have a tough match against Lekhwiya,” said the club’s Moroccan coach. “It is a difficult match as we hope to continue our good run in the competition but we have to face a strong team who have shown good performances as well. 

“The two sides know each other well and I believe that the match will be decided in the small details which we hope we can work on. We should try our best to avoid the mistakes we made in the semi-final of the Emir’s Cup.” 

While Ibrahim could return, Al Sadd will be without defender Ibrahim Majed, who is out for the rest of the season after having surgery on a foot injury. Jasser Yehia is also missing after picking up a second yellow card of the group stages in the loss against Al Hilal on Matchday Six.

Al Sadd, who won the AFC Champions League in 2011, trailed five points behind Lekhwiya in second place as the Michael Laudrup-coached club won the 2015 Qatar Stars League. 

The two teams have played each other four times in domestic action since August last year, with Al Sadd winning three of those meetings, but Ammota believes a tight tie will be decided over the course of both legs. 

“The match on Tuesday will be important but it will not be decisive as there will be a second match to determine the team who will advance to the quarter-finals,” he said. 

“The match tomorrow will be different than the four previous meetings that we had this season against Lekhwiya who will try to avenge their last defeat.”