Al-Arabi and Al-Qadsiah Face Al-Nasr and Al-Jahra... on Saturday

Al-Arabi aims to continue its “upturn” as it hosts Al-Nasr, while its rival Qadsia hopes to overcome its “derby” defeat when it visits Al-Jahra on Saturday, in the eighth round of the Zain Premier League. The round opens tomorrow, Friday, with matches between Fehail and Salibikhaet, and Al-Shabab and Al-Tadamun.

Before the round begins, Al-Kuwait tops the table with 16 points, two points ahead of Kazma and three ahead of Al-Nasr. Qadsia sits fourth with 12 points, followed by Al-Salmiya (10), Al-Arabi and Fehail (9 each), Al-Shabab (8), Al-Jahra (7), Al-Sahel and Salibikhaet (4 each), and finally Al-Tadamun (3).

It will not be easy for Al-Arabi and its Bosnian coach, Darko Nestorovic, to continue the winning run the team began to find its way in the last two rounds with victories over Fehail 2-0 and Qadsia 3-0.

The “Green” team enters the match with high morale, but will face a stubborn opponent that could have snatched second place in the standings had it not settled for a late 2-2 draw with Al-Shabab in the previous round.

The “Orange” team, led by Zahir Al-Adwani, is achieving notable results and is keen to regain its winning rhythm again, even if it comes at the expense of a strong rival like Al-Arabi.

As for Qadsia, which has spent the past days assessing the damage after a heavy “derby” defeat at a time when it was in a much better position than its rival, it is now required to reconcile with its fans and return from Al-Jahra with a victory to restore its balance and confidence.

The focus will be on the team’s foreign players, who delivered a disappointing performance against Al-Arabi and have come under heavy criticism from the public and media.

For its part, Al-Jahra, led by coach Ahmed Abdul-Karim, enters the match with high morale after securing an important and unexpected 3-0 victory over Fehail.

In tomorrow’s two matches, Fehail must overcome its surprising loss to Al-Jahra by getting past Salibikhaet, who came from an important and exciting 2-2 draw with Al-Salmiya and are aiming to move further up the table and leave the relegation zone.

The second match brings together two “upturn” teams: Al-Tadamun, coming from a deserved 3-2 win over Al-Sahel, their first of the season, and Al-Shabab, which snatched a valuable point at Al-Nasr’s stadium in stoppage time, avoiding a third consecutive defeat.

Qadsia Club expressed its reservations about its team playing its match against Al-Jahra on Saturday in the Zain Premier League at the Mubarak Al-Aryan Stadium.

In a letter to the federation, the club questioned the reasons for changing the match venue three times in recent days, from the Ali Al-Salim Stadium to the Abdullah Al-Khalifa Stadium, and finally to Mubarak Al-Aryan Stadium.

Qadsia noted that last week’s match between Al-Jahra and Fehail, held at Mubarak Al-Aryan Stadium, witnessed discontent due to the poor condition of the pitch and the presence of several “pits” that could cause injuries to players.

For its part, Al-Jahra issued a statement affirming the suitability of the pitch and insisting on its right to play on it.