Qatari Newspaper: Al-Shamal Seeking a Historic Win in Oman

Qatar's Al-Raya newspaper, ahead of the Al-Shamal vs. Tractor match, wrote that the Qatari side, relying on its well-known stars, is seeking to record its first win of the new Asian Elite League season.

According to "Varzesh Se", Iran and Qatar's Tractor teams will face each other at Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat from 19:30 tonight. This match will be held in the framework of the second week of the group stage of the Asian Elite League, and Shamal hopes to get his first Asian win this time after his promising performance in the first week.

In a report about this match, Al-Rayeh newspaper wrote: Shamal enters his second Asian match with high hopes. This team was the only representative of Qatar that left the field with a positive result in the first week and reached a 1-1 draw against Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia. Al-Shamal took the lead in that match with Baghdad Bunnejah's goal and went to the threshold of victory, but in the fourth minute of stoppage time, they received the equalizer.

Despite a good start in the elite league, David Prats's men experienced a heavy defeat in the domestic competition before facing Traktor. Al Shamal was defeated by Al Duhail with four goals in the fifth week of the Qatar Stars League. The team's performance dropped noticeably in the last half hour, and in the end, it was an unexpected defeat for the last season's runner-up in the Qatar League. Now Al-Shamal has to leave behind the effects of that result and enter the Asian competition with a different mental condition.

One of the most important points of this meeting is the possibility of Riyad Mahrez's first appearance with the Shamal shirt. The Algerian star, who has just joined this team, can increase the power of the attack line of the Qatar representative due to his extensive experience and numerous honors. Mahrez has a history of winning the European Champions League with Manchester City and winning the last two editions of the Asian Elite League with Al-Ahly in Saudi Arabia, and if he gets the necessary preparation, he will be one of the important pillars of Shamal.

Al-Shamal also once again owns Baghdad Bunnejah. The Algerian striker of this team missed the match against Al Duhail due to suspension, but he has no problem to play against Tractor. Bunnejah, along with Mahrez, Alex Cuiado, and Wesley Saeed, can form a powerful attack line that the technical staff of Shamal has made a special account of to open the gate of Tractor.

On the other side of the field, Traktor enters this match after losing in the first week, aiming to compensate for the previous result. This issue has increased the sensitivity of the confrontation between the two teams and the importance of three points on the way to promotion. At the end of his report, Al-Rayeh wrote that Al-Shamal hopes to turn the good performance of the first week into a victory this time, to forget the domestic defeat against Al-Dhail and to improve his position in the Asian Elite League by relying on the ability and experience of his players.