El Jaish ready to secure top spot in ACL goup

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Tuesday, April 19th 2016 01:33 AM

DOHA: Qatar Stars League side El Jaish will be looking forward to cement their position at the top of Group D of theAFC Champions League when they host Saudi League leaders Al Ahli on Tuesday. El Jaish, meanwhile, have already booked their place in the next phase of the competition having only failed to win one of their four games so far and victory over Al Ahli will guarantee top spot for Sabri Lamouchi’s side. The Qataris drew 2-2 with former AFC Champions League winners Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League on Friday and the head coach is determined to pick up all three points on Tuesday. “Despite securing our place in the knockout stage, we will be still working with the same approach that we previously had and hopefully we can get the three points against Al Ahli,” said Lamouchi. “We want to remain on top of the group although the next match will not be easy. “We have a lot of information on our opponents and we know that they have several good players. We have performed well in the competition so far and our ambition is to go as far as possible.” As for Al Ahli, the Jeddah side will be boosted by the return from injury of defender Motaz Hawsawi as the Saudi Arabian side set out to pick up a much needed victory to stay in the hunt for a knockout stage berth. “We are going into the match with one ambition which is to win and get the three points in order to maintain our chances of qualifying to the Round of 16,” said Gross, whose side beat Hajar 1-0 in the Saudi league on Saturday. “The defeat against Al Ain weakened our chances but our focus now is only on the El Jaish match.