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Al Ahli v Kalba Pre-Match Press Conferences

Al Ahli manager Quique Flores has prepared his team to get back to winning ways against Kalba on Saturday, but has warned his side that it will not be an easy task. The Spanish coach stated that Al Ahli’s goal is to win the game and nothing less, but they will need to perform well in order to get the three points as Kalba have been showing some stirring signs and strong performances in recent rounds; notably an excellent win against Al Nasr last week. 

 

Flores confirmed that Al Ahli will be without the Chilean striker Jiminez and Portuguese playmaker Ricardo Quaresma for the game, but he has full confidence in the players who will step up to the starting line-up in their places. Speaking in his pre-match press conference about criticism from fans after last week’s defeat at Al Shabab, the Spaniard said: “I fully understand the frustrations of the fans and I respect their opinions. They are accustomed to winning so of course the loss was a disappointment, but we will try hard to improve our performance level and win the next games to push into the top three in the League.”

 

In the opposing dugout, Kalba coach Ze Mario has a selection headache on his hands as Amer Deeb, Edward Sadomba and Ahmed Sulaiman all return to the squad for the game, strengthening the options in the starting eleven and on the bench. The Brazilian coach noted: “It will be a very difficult match but we are counting on the positive emergence of our team since the start of the second round of the League, and we still have a lot to offer. I will play in a similar way as we played in our 2-1 win over Al Nasr in the last round.”

 

The Round 18 game comes too early for French midfielder Gregory Dufrennes, who is not yet ready to make his return, but should be fit in time to face Ajman in Round 19. “He has resumed training with the First Team but he is not yet fully fit, so we will not risk him yet and we’ll give him the proper recovery time needed after the injury he suffered,” the Brazilian coach said. Ze Mario also feels that the absence of Jiminez and Quaresma will not adversely affect Al Ahli, particularly as they have many strong attacking options such as national team player Ahmad Khalil on the bench.