Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Following his team’s disappointing exit from the King’s Cup of Champions last week, Al Hilal coach Ivan Hasek expects a battling performance from his players on Tuesday as they try to secure their place in the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League.
The Saudi club lead Group D by a point over Piroozi after a 1-0 away win against the Iranian club two weeks ago. However, their build-up to their final group match against Qatar’s Al Gharafa has not been helped by their 3-2 aggregate loss to Al Ahli in the semi-finals of the King’s Cup.
Hasek is confident that his side can raise themselves for the crucial AFC Champions League tie. And while a draw would be enough to send them through to the knockout rounds, the Czech is eyeing a win that would ensure top spot and a home tie in the last 16.
"The match will be important for us and if we play with our fighting spirit we can get a win and qualify from the group. We will only look for a win which is the most important thing for us," said Hasek.
"The Al Gharafa match will be the most important match for me since I took charge of the team and we will miss some key players. However, we have the suitable replacements and we will look forward to win in front of our fans."
Creative midfielder Mohammed Al Shalhoub.is a major doubt for the game due to a severe ankle injury but Al Hilal will have defender Sultan Al Beshi back from suspension while Moroccan forward Adil Hermach should be available as well after recovering from injury.
Al Gharafa trail three points behind Al Hilal and they must win the match to have any chance of qualifying for the last 16.
They enjoyed a huge lift when they won the Emir Cup last weekend, beating reigning AFC Champions League winners Al Sadd on penalties in the final.
"We will go into the match with high spirits alter recently winning Qatar Emir Cup title. However, we have put the title celebrations behind and we are now concentrating on the match against Al Hilal," said coach Paulo Silas.
The team arrived in Riyadh on Sunday but they will be missing Diego Tardelli for the match as the Brazilian forward is suspended after receiving two yellow cards in his side’s previous group matches.
On a more positive note, defender Hamed Shami and Iranian forward Farhad Majidi Shami will return after missing the 2-1 win over Al Shabab Al Arabi two weeks ago through suspension.
"Our task is very hard as we will miss Tardelli and three other players,” added Silas. “The condition of the two teams is similar and we hope that we can get over the absence of the players and put on a good performance and get a win on Tuesday."
The other Group D game takes place in Dubai where Piroozi face bottom side Al Shabab Al Arabi needing a win to book their place in the last 16.
While Piroozi have done poorly in the Iranian league this season, Piroozi coach Mustafa Denizli is still confident that his side can perform well on the continental stage.
“We know the importance of this match and we have prepared very well,” said the Turk, whose team demolished Al Shabab 6-1 in Tehran in March.
“Al Shabab are a very good team and the big win that we had in the previous meeting against them was unexpected. We will go into this game to get the three points as we always do in our matches. I hope that we can get a positive result which can help us to qualify.
Al Shabab are mainly playing for pride after a poor campaign that has seen them pick up only two points from five games so far.
"We have high motivation. I have told my players that our task is to perform well as we want to defend the dignity of our club and I'm confident the players will put in a good performance," said coach Paulo Bonamigo
"We played well in our previous matches but we were not lucky. Our team lost concentration in the final few minutes, both against Al Gharafa and Al Hilal. However, this is all part of the bigger experience that we have gained this year."
Brazilian forward Ciel and defender Esam Dhahi will miss the game through suspension after both players received two yellow cards during the group stage. However, midfielder Adel Abdulla should be back for Al Shabab after serving a one-game ban.