DONIS CALLS FOR CALM AS HILAL HOPE TO MAINTAIN FOOLAD’S WINLESS RUN

Riyadh: Coach Giorgos Donis has said he believes his Al Hilal side have enough in them to defeat Iran’s Foolad Khouzestan in Wednesday’s crunch Group C encounter in the AFC Champions League at the King Fahd International Stadium.

At the halfway stage in Group C, the 2014 runners-up are in second place with four points from three games, a point ahead of Foolad, who have tied their opening three group matches.

And with the two sides playing out a scoreless draw in Iran in Matchday Three, the Greek coach will be hoping a home win for the two-time continental champions can create considerable breathing space for his side in second spot as they aim to reach the Round of 16 for the seventh successive year.

“We prepared ourselves very well for the match but we must be calm and I’m confident the players will give their best to win,” said Donis (pictured), who will be without suspended midfielders Salman Al Faraj and Saud Kariri.

“We are under big pressure to win against Foolad, who are a strong team and will not be easy opponents for us.

“However, we know them and their weaknesses well as I watched several of their matches and have a good idea what to expect,” added the coach, who will be able to call on midfielder Nawaf Al Abid after he missed the reverse fixture in Iran, while forward Nassir Al Shamrani is also available for the tie.

Opposite number Dragan Skocic, meanwhile, will be hoping his unbeaten Foolad side can build on the resilient form that has helped them secure three successive draws and record their first win of the group stage.

After qualifying for the Round of 16 in the 2014 edition of the continental competition, the Croatian coach knows a result in Riyadh is of utmost importance if his team are to do the same this time out.

And with the visitors being without a number of players, including suspended midfielder Mohsen Mosalman, Skocic knows that his team will have to be at their best to achieve a positive result.

“We will be playing the match in difficult conditions as we will miss some players, but I hope their replacements will be good enough to get the three points and renew our hopes of qualifying from the group,” said coach Skocic.

“We are not afraid of playing in front of a big crowd and I hope that our players will concentrate regardless of the fact that Al Hilal will try to take advantage of playing in front of their fans.”