Kuwait Club aims to strengthen qualification hopes against Nasaf

Kuwait Club player undergoes solo session.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 27: Kuwait Club aims to build on its winning momentum when it faces Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi away today in the third round of the AFC Champions League Two group stage.

The Group B match kicks off at 4:45 pm at the Central Stadium in Qarshi, with Bahrain’s Khalidiya meeting the UAE’s Al-Wahda in the other fixture.

Kuwait Club enters the contest in second place with three points, having bounced back from a 2-0 opening defeat to Al-Wahda by beating Khalidiya 3-1 in the previous round. Al-Wahda lead the group with six points, while Khalidiya and Nasaf have one point apiece.

The Kuwait Club heads into the match in impressive form, having scored 20 goals across its last three Zain Premier League outings. It also leads the domestic standings with 16 points.

Coach Firas Al-Khatib will look to translate that attacking strength into another continental victory as Kuwait Club seeks to strengthen its position in the race for qualification to the next round.

Al-Khatib has a balanced squad featuring experienced campaigners and emerging talents, including Ahmad Al-Dhafiri, Yousef Nasser, Redha Hani, Mohammed Dahham, Ali Hussein, Saud Al-Hawshan, Abdullah Al-Qarzaei, Sami Al-Sanea, Faisal Zayed and Amro Abdel Fattah.

The squad also includes foreign professionals Yassine Khenissi of Tunisia, Mohammed Marhoon of Bahrain, Arsène “Malik” Zola of Congo, Omar Gonzalez of Cameroon, and Mehdi Barrahma of Morocco.

However, Kuwait Club expects a tough challenge from Nasaf, who will be eager to make the most of home advantage and claim its first win in the competition. Another defeat would further complicate the Uzbek side’s hopes of advancing to the next stage.

A Qatari refereeing team will oversee the encounter, with Abdulhadi Al-Ruwaili as the main referee, assisted by Yousef Aref and Zahi Sanad. Mohammed Al-Mazeed will serve as the fourth official.

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff