Tribune News Network
Doha
Al Arabi will meet Al Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia in the third round match of Group B of the Gulf Club Champions League 2024-25 at the Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday at 8pm.
Al Qadsia of Kuwait and Al Riffa of Bahrain are the other teams in the group.
Al Arabi go into the clash looking to resurrect their position in the group after going down 0-2 in the last round to Al Riffa. Al Arabi had played a 1-1 draw against Al Qadsia in their opening round. The Dream Team with a solitary point to their credit are currently fourth in the group while Al Ettifaq are on top with 6 points, Al Riffa are second with 3 points followed by Al Qadsia with 1 point.
Al Arabi will be aiming to register their first win in the league to enhance their chances of qualifying for the next round.
Anthony Hudson, Al Arabi’s technical director, will be carefully studying the Al Ettifaq team to determine their strengths and weaknesses and work on exploiting the loopholes. The coach and his team know that a win is key for them to rise in the group and the tournament.
Al Ettifaq meanwhile would be looking to gain as many points it can from the clash following their two successive wins to maintain lead as the group leaders. The tussle therefore makes the contest both challenging and exciting for both teams.
This new version of Gulf Club Champions League includes eight teams divided into two groups with matches held on home-and-away basis. The top two teams from each group qualify for the semi-finals.