Al Rayyan coach Nicholas Cordova spoke to the media ahead of their 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League Week 13 match against Al Arabi.

“This week is going to be different due to the arrival of two foreign professionals to our team.

“We will prepare the team in the best way to face Al Arabi. The match has a special character. Al Arabi played against two big teams, Al Sadd and Qatar SC, in the past two rounds, and they were not easy matches, and what is important for us is to prepare the team well. We have studied Al Arabi and know their strengths and weaknesses, and what is important is to prepare the team in the best way and present a good match.

“We played good matches of late and during the absence of the national team players, the team performed well. We are waiting for a better level after contracting with professionals and the return of the national team players,” said Cordova.

Al Rayyan player Abdulaziz Hatem said, “A strong match. Al Arabi are having a good season and are now in second place. For us, the start was not good due to several factors and from now on we consider that the league has started. Al Rayyan will be different in the upcoming matches. The team signed new players, but they need time.

“We played several difficult matches recently. We lost against Al Sadd, won against Al Shamal, drew with Al Gharafa and presented a good level. As a big club, when you are at the bottom of the standings, you need to win points more than level. The team played many matches well, but he did not get the points. In terms of the level, the Al Arabi match will be the beginning of the league for us.”