The second half of Qatar’s domestic league promises more drama, marked by a close midtable battle and a title race that is still open at the top.
For a season that started with drama surrounding the big clubs, the second phase of Qatar’s Ooredoo Stars League promises equally thrilling — if not more — plots.
Defending champions Al Sadd’s charge to dethrone leaders Al Duhail will headline the first few weeks, yet a tight battle at the midtable, as well as an open top scorer’s race also make up for interesting plots to follow.
Equally eye-catching will be to follow along Al Ahli’s run, who have exceeded expectations in a season that has seen the likes of Al Arabi, Al Wakrah, and Al Rayyan stumble multiple times.
With fresh faces in charge for several and Stadium 974 poised to host its first Qatari league match, it will be anything but dull by the end of 11 matchdays on the cards.
As such, here are five plots to keep track of, as a refresher ahead of the league’s comeback:
Will the defending champions catch up to Al Duhail?
Following a sluggish start to the season, Al Sadd went to the halfway mark with the best momentum among the Qatari clubs.
Felix Sanchez’s side are now unbeaten for six league games — their last loss came as a 5-1 loss away at Al Duhail — and have managed to maintain to advance to the knockouts in Asia without losing a single game as well.
While Al Duhail’s shocking 2-1 loss against promotion winners Al Khor in the last game before the break made things easier, Al Sadd still trail the league leaders Al Duhail by three points. There was an opening to cut the deficit down to a single point, yet the defending champions dropped points in a 2-2 draw against Al Ahli.
The challenge for Sanchez’s men now will not only be to maintain the recent streak but to do it with the maximum points possible.
Al Sadd will have to navigate amidst a tight schedule consisting of AFC Champions League Elites and notable exclusions due to injuries, it will be a sight to behold if the defending champions will be able to complete the bounce back.
A tight top scorer’s race awaits
Talk about vengeance. Not only did Al Shamal’s Baghdad Bounedjah plot a stunning win against Al Sadd in the opening game of the campaign, but he also now leads two attackers from his former club in the top scorer’s race at the Ooredoo Stars League.
The Algerian striker was let go by The Wolves after nine seasons, which saw him become the club’s highest scorer ever with 202 goals in 202 appearances.
The transfer to Al Shamal did not put off his scoring boots, as evidenced by Bounedjah’s tally of 11 goals this season. He leads Al Sadd’s Akram Afif and Rafa Mujica, Al Duhail’s Michael Olunga, and Al Rayyan winger Roger Guedes in the golden boot race — all of whom are level on eight goals.
That makes the top scorers’ race worth looking at in the second half of the season. While Afif has not had the best of seasons in front of goal, but getting back to peak will pose a serious threat to Bounedjah’s lead.
A potential slump in Bounedjah’s form will open the window for everyone else with eight goals, too. Similarly, Croatian forward Antonio Mance of Umm Salal and Al Shahania’s Dutch forward Pelle van Amersfoort are on seven goals each. Considering their form lately, both cannot be written off in the race to bag the Mansour Muftah trophy as well.
Will Igor Biscan’s Al Ahli continue to fly high?
Only a few expected Al Ahli to be where they are right now. Igor Bišćan’s currently sit third in the table, level on points with defending champions Al Sadd. Just one loss in the campaign so far speaks volumes — they’ve been nothing short of impressive so far.
The question about longevity looms, however. Their surge in form has come largely due to Bišćan’s smart tactics, coupled with stand-out performances from the likes of Julian Draxler, Sekou Yansané, and Erik Exposito. But whether that is sustainable with the squad that they possess, remains to be seen.
A realistic target from here on should be a spot in next year’s ACL Elite with a top-three finish. Their only defeat came against leader Duhail and have been able to hold up against the rest fairly well. However, dropped points on four occasions have held them back and allowed Al Sadd to catch up.
Consistency and persistence remain the key, starting from the clash against Al Wakhrah on January 11 at the Al Thumama Stadium.
A tight scramble in midtable
Only six points separate fifth-placed Al Shamal and Qatar SC, which sit second last in the Ooredoo Stars League table, threatened with a relegation play-off.
It gets even more interesting if we zoom in a little bit. Umm Salal and Al Wakrah are tied with 14 points each in sixth and seventh place and both have the same goal difference of minus three. Just a spot below them lie Al Rayyan, with 13 points, having conceded four more than they’ve scored so far in the season.
While subpar performances from Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan have landed them in this midtable struggle, similarly courageous efforts from relative minnows Al Shamal and Umm Salal have made things tougher for them.
Al Shamal currently sit fifth on the table with 16 points, following a run that has seen them upset the likes of Al Wakrah, Al Arabi, and Al Sadd. Continuation to this run, under new manager David Prats, will make the battle for places in the midtable, as well as the attempts to ascent to the places above more entertaining and worth keeping an eye on.
A revival for Al Arabi, Al Rayyan, and Al Wakrah?
If the second half of the season pans out like the first one, we might see one of Al Arabi, Al Rayyan, or Al Wakrah end up in a relegation play-off spot.
Al Arabi are the ones that look the likeliest of the lot, if things do not change. The Doha-based club are level on points with 11th-placed Al Shahania, with just two wins in the league so far. Caretaker manager Yeray Rodriguez might face the same fate as his predecessors Anthony Hudson and Younes Ali if things do not work out for the better.
Poor performances and managerial changes at Al Arabi have come as a consequence of a series of underperformances as well as momentary lapses. Get things together for good and their second half of the season should look better than the first.
Multiple managerial changes bring us to the other underperforming giants — Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah, both of which will have new managers at the helm when the league restarts.
Al Wakrah have put their faith in former Al Rayyan manager Poya Asbaghi to steady their ship and get them to a respectable finish. The Swede was let go following Al Rayyan’s feeble start to the season, despite overhauling the squad with quality foreign signings.
Asbaghi’s former club, meanwhile, have opted to replace Younes Ali — who left Al Arabi for Al Rayyan — with Botafogo’s manager Artur Jorge.
This manager’s merry-go-round makes the three sides’ attempt of revival, and the resumption of the league in general, even more interesting.
Doha News’ round-up of each of 11 matchday so far can be found here.
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