AFC Cup Group B Preview:Al-Jaish to take on Kuwait SC

Kuwait City: Kuwait SC coach Marin Ion is concerned that the rigours of battling for honours on multiple fronts could have a detrimental effect on his players ahead of their AFC Cup clash with Syrian champions Al Jaish on Tuesday.

The defending champions moved to the top of Group B after a 2-0 win over Al Jaish at the Kuwait SC Stadium two weeks ago courtesy of goals by JavadNekounam and ChadiHammami,reports the AFC correspondent.

They meet again at the same venue this week with Ion expecting another tougher outing for his team.

“We expect an interesting match as both sides are looking for the win,” said the Romanian, who saw his side warm up for the game with a 7-1 league win over Al Sahel last Friday.

“Our aim is to get the three points although we will be facing a team who have no option but to win as they want to maintain their chances in the competition.

“We want to win the match as well although I’m a little worried about the physical status of our players because of the heavy schedule. We are fighting on four fronts and hopefully we can concentrate well in the match to get the three points.”

Brazilian midfielder RogerioCoutinho looks set to return for Kuwait SC after being suspended for the previous match while defender FahadShaheen is expected to return to the team after being sidelined by injury. However, defender Sami Al Sanea will miss the match through suspension after receiving two yellow cards.

Al Jaish are in last place in the group with only two points, four behind Kuwait SC, but coach AnasMakhlouf expects that his players will rise to the occasion.

“We will go into the match with an aim to maintain our chances in the competition as this match is very important for us in our campaign,” he said. “We want to give a good performance that reflects the good level of Syrian football despite the conditions that we have.

“Kuwait SC are a strong team and they have all the elements to become champions. They have good experience in the competition but we prepared well for them and we want to get a positive result in this interesting match.”

Kuwait SC have a two-point lead over Omani side Fanja and Lebanon’s Nejmeh, who clash at the Seeb Stadium in a match that could prove crucial in deciding the outcome of Group B.

Fanja were beaten 1-0 by Nejmeh two weeks ago and coach HichamChazouani is hoping that they can turn around their fortunes on home soil.

“We will be playing against a strong opponent and the match will not be easy. We want to advance to the knockout stage but both teams have a good chance to advance and the winners will be the team who show more concentration tomorrow,” said Chazouani, who will have forward Ahmed Hadid available after he missed the previous match through suspension.

“We have a heavy schedule as the players played four matches in the last 10 days and this is not possible. The two teams know each other well but we have big determination to win and hopefully we can do so at home and in front of our fans.”

Nejmeh will be looking to build on the win against Fanja but they will be without defender Ali Hamam, who is suspended after he was sent off in the previous match.

“The match is very important for us and it is very hard,” said Nejmeh coach Theo Bucker. “I hope that the team can get in a good performance in order to take the three points back home.”

“We hope to get a positive result as we will be playing against a strong team. However, we want to win or at least get a point from the match as our opponents have good players and they are playing at home and in front of their fans.”

M. Daoud