Muscat: Al Nahda coach Bernardo Tavares is hoping his side can overcome their poor domestic form to defeat Al Wahda in Group A on Tuesday and keep their dreams of a place in the 2015 AFC Cup Round of 16 alive for at least another week.
Tavares’ team lie 13th and are in danger of being relegated from the 14-team league and suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of Al Nasr last Thursday, but victory over Al Wahda would move the Omani club ahead of their Syrian counterparts with just one match remaining in the group stage.
Al Nahda go into the game without midfielder Mansoor Al Naaimi, who will miss the game due to suspension, but Mohamed Lahfidhi will be available after serving a one-match ban.
“We will have a difficult match against Al Wahda as we need to win in order to get the three points before the last match against Al Wehdat,” said the Portuguese coach. “We will be fighting to get the three points which will keep our chances alive.
“We are struggling in the local league but winning tomorrow will give us a big morale boost before the remaining matches in the domestic competition. The win will give us a big push and hopefully the players will give their best to achieve our target.”
Victory for Al Wahda, meanwhile, coupled with a win for either side in the game between Salam Zgharta and Al Wehdat will take the Syrian side into the Round of 16.
“We want to get the three points and continue our good results in the competition,” said coach Mohamed Shabrak, who will have midfielder Mahmoud Khadouj available again after injury.
“We have watched the recent matches of Al Nahda who got a big result against Salam Zgharta and hopefully we can take advantage of their weaknesses.
“We are now ready for the match against Al Nahda after the results that we made in the competition. We prepared very well and the players have strong determination to win the match and get the three points.”
Lebanon’s Salam Zgharta need to win against Al Wehdat in the other game in Group A to stay alive in the competition, but coach Pieter Meindertsma is concerned the step up in standard in the AFC Cup may make life difficult for his team.
“The match is important for us and we need to win if we want to remain in contention,” said the Dutchman. “We played well in the last match against Al Nahda but the players lost concentration in the last 10 minutes and this affected us.
“We usually have good performances in the local league but in the AFC Cup the matches are quicker and the pressure affects the players. We will try to avoid defensive mistakes tomorrow and get a positive result.”
Mouhamad Arnaout will be available for Salam Zgharta after recovering from injury while Al Wehdat will be without suspended duo Ahmad Elias and goalkeeper Amer Shafi.
Defender Mohammad Al Basha, however, returns for Al Wehdat, who drew with Al Jazira to clinch the second straight Jordanian league title on Thursday.
“The first match against Salam Zgharta was an entertaining match and our opponents showed a good performance despite the defeat,” said coach Abdallah Abu Zema of the 5-1 win on Matchday One. “The match tomorrow will be the last chance for Salam Zgharta which makes it important for the two teams.
“We expect an open match and hopefully we can show a good performance and get back home with the result that we want. We will go into the match with great spirits after winning the league and hopefully the players will be fighting to continue the good recent results.”
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