Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Malang: Saudi league side Ettifaq will be looking to shake off the effects of a long and exhausting journey from the Middle East to South-East Asia when they face Arema Indonesia in the first leg of their quarter-final at the Gajayana Stadium on Tuesday.
After playing to a 1-1 draw against Al Faisaly in the Saudi league last Friday, the Dammam-based club set off on a 20-hour journey to the East Javan city of Malang via Jakarta.
They eventually touched down in Malang at 3pm on Monday and made a brief stop at their hotel before holding a training session at the Gajayana Stadium less than two hours after their arrival there.
Speaking after that training session, the club's head coach Alan Geiger admitted that his players were still feeling the effects of their long trip.
"Naturally, we are very tired after our long journey here," said the Swiss coach. "My team played a league match last Friday and then we had a long flight with a transit stop in Jakarta so of course, we are feeling tired.
"But we are here now and we are ready to play against Arema. The stadium and the condition of the facilities here are good and we are well prepared to get a good result here."
Ettifaq are the first Saudi club to appear in the AFC Cup following their 3-1 loss to Esteghlal in the AFC Champions League play-offs in February. They have done well so far with four wins and two draws during the group stage and a 1-0 win over Omani side Al Suwaiq 1-0 in the last 16
However their form in their domestic league has been poor this season and the draw against Al Faisaly left them tenth in the 14-team league with only one win from their first six games.
They also have injury concerns with defender Jamaan Al Jamaan and striker Saleh Bashir left out after receiving bad knocks recently.
However, goalkeeper Faiz Al Subaiei has recovered from a shoulder injury and recently returned to training.