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Al Rayyan will be desperate to clinch their first win of this season's AFC Champions League ahead of their clash with Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia at King Saud University Stadium on Tuesday.
Rayyan is only a point ahead of Al Hilal but will be far happier with their start, having followed a 2-2 draw with Esteghlal with a 1-1 draw against Al Ain.
Al Hilal drew their opening Group D fixture with Al Ain and then lost 1-0 to Esteghlal two weeks ago after Abdullah Al Hafith's own goal. The 2017 runners-up have now not won on the continent since the first leg of last year's semi-final and have yet to score in the current campaign.
Al Rayyan welcome back their talisman, captain Rodrigo Tabata, after the playmaker was suspended for the draw with Al Ain, while the
hosts will be without Ali al Habsi after the goalkeeper was sent off against Esteghlal.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rayyan coach Michael Laudrup said:"This stadium is one of the great stadiums in football because of the proximity of the public from the pitch and the players, which makes the game more enthusiastic."
Responding to a question on Rayyan's heavy defeat against Gharafa in the league, Laudrup said:"I do not want to go into the details of Al Gharafa match. This is a very different tournament from the league. We played a big game against Al Ain. We wanted a better result. Every game had its own conditions in football," he said. .
"Al Hilal played the final of the AFC Champions League three months ago. It is a very distinguished team. It has many international players in his squad. Last season we played with them and we were equal, and we lost a penalty in the final minutes."
Luadrup pointed out that his team will not play for a draw but to win, and said:"in every game we play as always to win the game, if you play on the tie you will lose the game, so we will play to win."
Qatar's other Champions League team Al Duhail will host Locomotiv of Uzbekistan at the Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Stadium today.