Al Sadd coach Juan Manuel Lillo ‘Juanma’ spoke to media ahead of their 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League Week 11 match against Al Arabi.

“We know that Al Arabi are a strong competitor and are at the top of standings. Their leadership stature provides more value to the match. Al Arabi have done a good job so far and the match will be a challenging contest.

“Presently, we have the players who have returned after the World Cup and they are adapting to their new roles. We also have players who were with the national team at the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup. With all these players back in the side, a new and different path begins for the team.

“We are aware of the challenges of the clash against Al Arabi. We will play with full force and in a way that will help us win the three points,” said Juanma.

Al Sadd defender Pedro Miguel said, “The match will be difficult because Al Arabi are in good form and have a good team.

“Al Sadd are also ready. Some of our players have now returned. We have trained hard this week to perform well in the match to get the three points. We need the points and everyone knows that this is a very difficult match but we are ready. Our goal is to win and continue to compete for the league title.

“The beginning of the league was difficult as we had a lot of absences and things were difficult but the national team players have returned now. The players who were at the Gulf Cup are also ready to play against Al Arabi. Everyone is fully prepared to help the team until the end of the season because we want to win the title. Now everyone is back and we are stronger than ever.

“We just have to fight in every match until the end. We start again against Al Arabi and the support of our fans is very important to us. Our team becomes stronger when we stand side by side with the support of our fans.”