SPORT | 18

Woods ready

for leap into

unknown at

fan-free major

SPORTWe still have

chance to win

QSL title:

Al Rayyan coach

SPORT | 19

THURSDAY 6 AUGUST 2020

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Equestrian sport enthusiasts in Qatar are in for a treat as the country’s premier showjumping series, Longines Hathab Equestrian Tour makes its return after a long break tomorrow.

The third season of the annual series which offers QR1m in total prize money, was affected by the global COVID-19 just after the ninth round and the competition was put on hold to prevent the spread of the disease.

The third season of the popular championship began in October 2019 and the Tour was originally scheduled to conclude in April this year.

The remaining three rounds will take place at the Qatar Equestrian Federation Arena, will feature only the showjumping (Individual and Teams) competitions. Dressage and Future Riders competitions will not take place.

The 10th round will kick off tomorrow with Small Tour (100 - 115cm) competition at 4.00pm. The

individual and team com-petitions of the Medium Tour (120 - 130cm) will begin at 6.45pm and will be followed by the prize distribution ceremony.

On Saturday, the second day of the round, Open and Big Tour (130 - 145cm) competitions will take place. The Open Class (115 - 125cm) competition will begin at 4.00pm, fol-lowed by the latter at 6.45pm.

Qatari rider Salman Muhammad Al Emadi is currently leading the Big Tour standings with 172 points.

Nasser Al Ghazali (166) is in the second spot, followed by Mohammed Sultan Al Suwaidi (164) among

Ghanem Nasser Al Qadi is at the helm of Medium Tour rankings with 178 points, closely followed by Muhammad Khalifa Al Baker (177). Mohammad Hazim Abara (174) in third at the moment.

Small Tour is led by Mohammed

Nasser Al Qadi (170). Khalifa Abdulla Al Khaldi (168) is at the second spot, followed by Mohammed Al Ghazali who has accumulated 166 points over the nine rounds so far.

For the health and safety of fans, the remaining three rounds will take place without spectators, but the action will be broadcast live.

Ali bin Youssef Al Rumaihi, the Director of the Tour, in a meeting

held with officials ahead of the resumption of the national show-jumping series, stressed the need to adhere to safety guidelines imposed by the Ministry of Publ ic Health. He also said all r i d e r s a n d members of the organising team wil l undergo medical examina-tions to ensure of everyone.

The 11th round will be held on August 14 and 15, while the season will close with the final round which will take place from August 27 to 29.

Longines, ExxonMobil and Salam International are the official partners of the Tour - which is a brainchild of H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Q a t a r O l y m p i c Committee.

Equestrian fans in for a treat as Longines Hathab Tour returns

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LONGINES HATHAB QATAR EQUESTRIAN TOURRound 10 - Programme

Venue: Qatar Equestrian FederationTOMORROW

Small Tour Table A, Special two phases (100-115m) at 16:00

Medium Tour (Individual and Teams)Table A, One round against the clock (120-130m) at

18:45SATURDAYOpen Class

Table A, One round against the clock (115-125m) at 16:00

Big TourTable A, One round against the clock with jump off

(130-145m) at 18:45

Qatari rider, Big Tour points leader Salman Mohammed Al Emadi astride The Toymaker.

18 THURSDAY 6 AUGUST 2020SPORT

Azam helps Pakistan rebuild after slow start in first Test

Woods ready for leap into unknown at fan-free major

Softer tyres throw up a fresh challenge for HamiltonREUTERS — SILVERSTONE

Softer tyres and hotter temper-atures will pose a fresh test for Lewis Hamilton (pictured) at Silverstone on Sunday after the Formula One championship leader won last weekend’s British Grand Prix on three wheels and a flat.

Tyre supplier Pirelli had always planned a change of compounds for the 70th Anni-versary Grand Prix, second of two at the circuit where the championship began in 1950, but there will be more scrutiny now.

Hamilton’s win after a last

lap tyre failure will go down as one of his most dramatic and came after he completed more than three quarters of the race on a single set.

“One step softer is going to be a challenge for us all and no doubt will move us all to at least a two-stop,” the six-times world champion, now 30 points clear of team mate Valtteri Bottas, said last Sunday.

“Obviously our cars are a lot quicker this year, we’re using the same tyres as last year, they (Pirelli) weren’t able to develop a better tyre to deal with the forces for this season, so it’s going to be a serious challenge

I think.” Team boss Toto Wolff agreed: “The hotter conditions brought the field closer together last week and the softer tyres will mean more pit stops and more variability with strategy, so we can expect a good fight.”

Hamilton has won the last three races, out of four so far in this COVID-19 affected season, and will start as favourite again.

If he finishes on the podium the Briton will equal the Formula One record of 155 set by Ferrari great Michael Schumacher.

Another win would leave him just three short of Schu-macher’s record 91.

Mercedes have won all four races in dominant fashion, with Bottas triumphant in the Aus-trian opener last month, and rivals recognise the champions are in a league of their own.

They would have had a one-two on Sunday had Bottas not suffered a tyre failure a lap before Hamilton and plunged from second to 11th.

“Maybe you find a tenth, or one-and-a-half, OK and we are a bit closer -- but it’s not close enough,” said

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.“You have to be realistic. I

mean you c a n d r e a m , and you can hope, but I think it’s way

m o r e important to be

realistic

because that’s how you move forward,” added the Dutch driver, who finished second on Sunday.

Ferrari will be hoping young Monegasque Charles Leclerc can again get more out of the car than seemed pos-sible after finishing third last weekend.

Nico Hulkenberg looks set for a second chance to start for Racing Point as stand-in for Mexican Sergio Perez, in quar-antine after testing positive for the new coronavirus.

The German was side-lined by a power unit problem last time.

NBA: Doncic shines as Mavericks down Kings

REUTERS — NEW YORK

Luka Doncic (pictured) capped a 34-point , 20-rebound, 12-assist triple-double with an inside basket to break a tie with 1:57 remaining in overtime as the Dallas Mavericks outlasted the Sacramento Kings for a 114-110 victory at HP Field House inside the NBA bubble near Orlando. Tim Hardaway Jr. had six of his 22 points in the extra session, helping the Mavericks win for the first time in three tries since the NBA restart. De’Aaron Fox went for a team-high 28 points for the Kings, who fell to the brink of elimination in the Western Conference play-off race with a third straight defeat since the restart. Doncic’s triple-double was his league-leading 16th of the season, while his 20 rebounds were a career high, eclipsing his previous best of 18 set against New Orleans in December.

Brooklyn Nets 119 - Milwaukee Bucks 116Timothe Luwawu-

Cabarrot scored a career-high 26 points and hit two clutch 3-pointers down the stretch to help Brooklyn pull out the win over Milwaukee.

Luwawu-Cabarrot hit 8 of 12 from the field and made five 3-pointers. Garrett Temple added 19 for the Nets, who played without Jarrett Allen (rest), Joe Harris (lower back/right hamstring) and Caris LeVert (left thigh contusion). Brooklyn also lost Jamal Crawford early in the second due to a left hamstring injury after he played six minutes.

Phoenix Suns 117 - Los Angeles Clippers 115 Devin Booker’s buzzer-

beating, turnaround jumper as time expired capped a 35-point effort, and Phoenix won its third straight to open the bubble restart, knocking off Los Angeles.

Cameron Payne finished with 12 points off the bench and was one of five Suns to score in double figures. Deandre Ayton scored 19 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists, and Ricky Rubio added 18 points and four assists.Portland Trail Blazers 110 -

Houston Rockets 102Damian Lillard registered

21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to help Portland post a victory over Houston.

CJ McCollum contributed 20 points and seven rebounds, and Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points, 19 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Trail Blazers, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference race.

MLB: Marlins beat Orioles; Twins winAP — NEW YORK

Starter Pablo Lopez tossed five scoreless innings, Francisco Cervelli and Jesus Aguilar homered, and the Miami Marlins returned from an eight-day hiatus with a 4-0 shutout of the host Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

The game was Miami’s first since July 26 after 18 players tested positive for COVID-19 following a three-game series in Philadelphia to open the season.

Lopez (1-0) allowed just two hits, didn’t issue a walk and matched his career high with seven strikeouts in his season debut.

Relievers James Hoyt, Richard Bleier, Brad Boxberger and Brandon Kintzler tossed an inning each for the Marlins, who fanned a season-high 11.

Baltimore’s John Means (0-1) pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run on two hits. He struck out four without a walk.

Meanwhile, Nelson Cruz went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI, and Jose Berrios picked up his first victory of the season as Minnesota topped Pitts-burgh in Minneapolis for its fifth straight win.

Eddie Rosario had two hits and two RBIs, and Max Kepler walked a career-high four times and scored twice for the Twins, who finished their eight-game homestand with a 7-1 mark.

Berrios (1-1) allowed one run on four hits and three walks over six innings while striking out six.

Trevor May got the final two outs for his first save.

PCB urges England to tour before 2022AFP — MANCHESTER

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan has urged England to send a team to the country before their scheduled return in 2022 after Azhar Ali’s side agreed to travel to Britain during the coronavirus pandemic.

England have not visited Pakistan since 2005/06. Sri Lanka, Zim-babwe, West Indies and Bangladesh have all made the trip.

“England are due to tour in 2022, and we’d love to have them coming over well before then for a shorter tour,” Khan told Sky Sports yesterday.

“It’s something that we’ll speak to the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) about,” he added.

Pakistan are currently playing the first Test of a three-match series at Old Trafford, which follows an England-West Indies series last month. Both teams have been praised for trav-elling to Britain, which has been hit hard by virus.

AFP — MANCHESTER

Pakistan’s Babar Azam under-lined his status as one of the world’s leading batsmen with a fine unbeaten fifty against England on an interrupted opening day of the first Test at Old Trafford yesterday.

When bad light forced an early close, Pakistan were 139-2, with Babar 69 not out and Shan Masood unbeaten on 46.

But left-handed opener Masood was twice missed on 45 by England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler either side of a lengthy rain break, with off-spinner Dom Bess the unlucky bowler on both occasions.

The prolific Babar has now reached a half-century in five

successive Test innings, with his previous five matches yielding four hundreds. Former England captain Nasser Hussain, com-mentating for Sky Sports, said Babar could be considered alongside players such as India captain Virat Kohli.

When play resumed in the early evening after a long rain delay, Root was soon bowling his occasional off-breaks in tandem with Bess to try and keep the match going under grey skies after Jofra Archer had pitched short to Babar.

But even with two spinners bowling and the floodlights on, the umpires still called a halt at 6:12 pm (1712 GMT).

Pakistan were 43-2 when

Babar came in to bat after captain Azhar Ali, who had won the toss, fell lbw for a duck to Chris Woakes.

Babar started cautiously but after the lunch interval he unfurled an array of stylish attacking shots.

He struck express paceman Archer down the ground for four before driving Bess for another boundary to bring up Pakistan’s hundred.

Bess, however, should have removed Masood for 45 when he took the left-hander’s outside edge but Buttler dropped the chance.

Then, following the rain delay, Buttler missed a chance to stump Masood after the

batsman charged down the pitch. The mistakes will revive discussion about the wicket-keeper’s place in the side with Ben Foakes, arguably a superior gloveman, waiting in the wings.

Babar drew level on 45 not out with Masood, who was on 22 when the right-hander came into bat, going on to complete an impressive 70-ball fifty, including nine boundaries.

Masood and fellow opener Abid Ali did well to survive the first hour before Archer struck.

Having tested Abid with several short-pitched deliveries, the paceman bowled him with a full-length ball for 16 before Azhar was lbw to a Woakes nip-backer for a six-ball duck.

Pakistan 1st InningsShan Masood not out ....................................... 46Abid Ali b Archer ................................................ 16Azhar Ali lbw b Woakes .....................................0Babar Azam not out ..........................................69Extras (b1, lb6, nb1) ...........................................8Total (2 wkts, 49 overs, 206 mins) ......139To bat: Asad Shafiq, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem ShahFall of wickets: 1-36 (Abid), 2-43 (Azhar)Bowling: Anderson 8-2-32-0 (1nb); Broad 11-4-24-0; Woakes 8-2-14-1; Archer 10-3-23-1; Bess 9-1-30-0; Root 3-0-9-0;England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Root (capt), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wkt), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James AndersonToss: PakistanUmpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG), Richard Illingworth (ENG)TV umpire: Michael Gough (ENG)Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

SCOREBOARD

Pakistan's Babar Azam (left) plays a shot on the opening day of first Test match against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.

AFP — SAN FRANCISCO

Tiger Woods (pictured) is preparing for a

journey into the unknown as he heads into this

week’s PGA Champi-onship hunting for a 16th major champi-onship against the surreal backdrop of a deserted course at TPC Harding Park.

Throughout his career, the 44-year-old former world number one has become accus-tomed to roaring gal-leries following his every shot, providing a jolt of energy that Woods has fed off time and again.

Yet this week’s PGA Championship in San Francisco will be different.

R e s t r i c t i o n s imposed due to COVID-19 mean that the first major of 2020 will be a fan-free, muted affair.

Woods got an early taste of his changed e n v i r o n m e n t o n Tuesday during a media briefing. Where in the

past a scrum of reporters would have attended, on Tuesday only a handful of jour-nalists were present.

“Well, that’s an unknown,” Woods said when asked about how the absence of fans might affect his chances.

“I don’t know if anyone in our gener-ation has ever played without fans in a major championship. It’s going to be very different.

“But it’s still a major championship. It’s still the best players in the world. We all under-stand that going into it, so there’s going to be plenty of energy from the competitive side.

“But as far as the energy outside the ropes, that is an unknown. And hopefully I can put myself in a position where I can be in that position where I can feel what it feels like to have no fans and also coming down the stretch with a chance to win.”

Woods’ former caddie, New Zealander Steve Williams, is among those who believe that

the lack of fans might prove to be a hindrance.

“With that element missing, for someone who hasn’t played a lot of tournament golf this year, it’ll be challenging for Tiger to find that spark he needs,” Wil-liams said this week.

Woods experienced new fan-less reality at the Memorial Tour-nament last month, at Muirfield Village, in Dublin, Ohio. He fin-ished tied for 40th.

“Those four days at Muirfield were a bit dif-ferent,” Woods said.

“It reminded me of sometimes on the weekend, you’d tee off Saturday morning and you’d just barely make the cut and you’re first off and there’s no one out there.

“But generally by the time you make the back nine, there’s thousands of people out there on the golf course waiting for the leaders to tee off.

“But that never hap-pened. So that’s the new world we live in. We just have to get used to it.”

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

Former champions Al Rayyan are four points behind table-toppers Al Duhail with just three rounds remaining in the QNB Stars League (QSL) but coach Diego Aguirre is keeping his fingers crossed, saying his team still stands a chance of winning the coveted title.

The Lions will take on sixth-placed Al Sailiya in first Week 20 match at Al Janoub Stadium today, hoping to claim all three points from the tie. With Al Duhail (46 points) regaining winning form in the previous round with a victory over Al Gharafa, the task appears dif-ficult for Al Rayyan to top the league but Aguirre is not ruling his team out of contention.

“Our chance still exists but first we will have to win all the remaining matches,” Aguirre told a press con-ference ahead of game against Al Sailiya.

“The task is challenging but in football everything is possible. We can win the league by earning all the remaining nine points. But first we need to give our best effort and win these three matches. This is what is important for us at this stage,” he added.

Al Sailiya - coached by Tunisian Sami Trabelsi – retained their sixth position despite being held 2-2 by bottom-placed Al Shahania in the last round. Al Rayyan defeated Al Sailiya 2-0 in the first leg of this season but Aguirre said the past result will not count in today’s tie.

“Al Sailiya are tough opponents and we will have to fight hard to claim winning points against them. They have good players and a very good coach which makes this game very difficult,” said.

Al Rayyan dropped two crucial points last week after being held to a goalless draw by traditional rivals Al Arabi, and defender Hamid Ismail said his team was confident of getting back to winning ways, saying Al Rayyan’s focus is now on the Al Sailiya game in which they will go all out for a win.

“Al Arabi draw reduced our chance but the opportunity is still there and we are hopeful. The match against Al Sailiya is crucial as a victory in this game will keep our chances open,” said Ismail before adding that the ‘Match of the Week’ between Al Duhail and Al Sadd

on Saturday can also play a key role in determining Al Rayyan’s fate.

Meanwhile, today’s second match will see Al Wakrah facing Al Arabi at the Al Sadd Stadium.

Heimir Hallgrimsson-coached Al Arabi are fifth with 25 points while Al Wakrah, coached by Marquez Lopez, are seventh with 21 points.

“Al Wakrah is one of the best tactical teams in the league, so we have to focus in the match,” said Hallgrimsson.

Lopez said: “We are working towards winning the match, like other games, but it will be difficult. The fact is that I am happy with my team because we are playing well of late and creating many scoring opportunities in front of the opponents’ goal.”

The task is challenging

but in football everything

is possible. We can win

the league by earning

all the remaining nine

points. But first we need

to give our best effort

and win these three

matches. This is what is

important for us at this

stage: Al Rayyan coach Diego Aguirre

19THURSDAY 6 AUGUST 2020 SPORT

Martic advances at Palermo Open REUTERS – PALERMO

The top seeds at the Palermo Ladies Open had a day of mixed fortunes as Croatia’s Petra Martic (pictured) advanced in straight sets, while second seed Marketa Vondrousova was ousted by Slov-enian qualifier Kaja Juvan in the first round on Tuesday.

Martic beat rusty Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck 6-0, 6-3 in her first match back on the tour in five months after the novel coronavorus pandemic suspended tennis worldwide, wrapping up the contest in 65 minutes with four breaks of serve.

The 29-year-old Croatian looked at home on the clay and started the match aggressively, needing only 23 minutes to take the opening set as Van Uytvanck struggled to find answers to her opponent’s superior court coverage.

In the other half of the draw, Juvan came from behind to beat the Czech Republic’s Vondrousova 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 to notch up the biggest win of the teenager’s career.

Twist to the ‘GOAT’ race as Nadal opts to skip US OpenREUTERS – LONDON

Rafael Nadal’s (pictured) decision to skip the US Open because of health concerns has added another twist to the intriguing three-way battle for the most career men’s Grand Slam titles and, in many eyes, the title of Greatest Of All Time (GOAT).

Had the 34-year-old Spaniard managed to retain the title he won in a five-set thriller against Daniil Medvedev last year, he would have joined Roger Federer at the top of the list with 20 titles.

Instead, his decision has cleared the path for 33-year-old Novak Djokovic to edge to within one of Nadal’s Grand Slam tally with a fourth title at Flushing Meadows and 18 in total.

If it might seem unfair to gloss over the chances of the other 127 men in the US Open main draw, it must be remembered that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have shared the last 13 Grand Slam titles between them.

Only Djokovic of the Big Three will be present in New York later this month with Federer, who turns 39 on Saturday, electing to undergo double knee surgery that will sideline him for the rest of 2020.

Not since the last century -- the 1999 US Open -- have both Federer and Nadal been absent from the main draw at a Grand Slam.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left

little untouched in the world of sport and the race for GOAT status is no exception, not least in the cancel-lation of the Wimbledon champion-ships for the first time since World War Two.

Nadal’s decision to skip the US Open was perhaps made easier by the fact that he will retain his ranking points from last year under the re-jigged system and by the proximity of the postponed French Open at the end of September.

On the clay courts of Roland Garros, Nadal has proved almost unbeatable over the last decade-and-a-half, winning his 12th title in 16 attempts in Paris last year. That means any potential gain on Nadal for Djokovic in the GOAT race from the US Open could be short-lived. The Serbian world number one was one of those who were sceptical about travelling to the US Open but was all present and correct when the entries were announced on Tuesday.

Arsenal to cut jobs as coronavirushits revenuesAFP – LONDON

FA Cup winners Arsenal announced yesterday they were planning to cut 55 jobs due to the damaging effect of the coro-navirus pandemic on the club’s finances.

The Premier League outfit said their main sources of income had all been hit, including broadcast revenue, matchday takings and com-mercial activity.

Players and management have taken pay cuts during the COVID-19 lockdown but the club said further savings were needed to weather the storm.

“Our aim has been to protect the jobs and base sal-aries of our people for as long as we possibly can,” said a statement signed by head of football Raul Sanllehi and man-aging director Vinai Venkatesham. “Unfortunately, we have now come to the point where we are proposing 55 redundancies.” Arsenal, who failed to qualify for the lucrative Champions League, said the outlook was bleak.

WHO says Large sports crowds ‘unrealistic’ this yearAFP – GENEVA

The World Health Organization said yesterday it was “unrealistic” to expect large crowds at sports events this year in countries suffering from community-level transmission of the new coronavirus.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said it could be “disastrous” in such circumstances to allow the return of sports matches with tens of thousands of people attending.

Asked in a live WHO social media chat

when major sports events could come back, Ryan said it was impossible to predict.

“We don’t know,” the Irish epidemi-ologist said.

“Large crowds of 40, 50, 60,000 people -- it’s not just the risk of being in the stadium, it’s the risk of going to the stadium, the public transport, the bars and the clubs,” he explained.

“Imagine all the problems we have now with nightclubs and bars, and you squeeze all of that together into a

four- or five-hour experience, where thousands of people go on the same public transport to a venue, get involved in the social aspects before a game, be involved in the game and then all of the social aspects after.

“In the context of community trans-mission, that could be disastrous.”

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2020 European football championships have been postponed until next year, while major football tournaments like Europe’s Champions League and the

English Premier League have been forced behind closed doors.

“We may have to expect that as things open up, we go from having no-one at the games to maybe 1,000 and 2,000,” said Ryan.

“We all want our sport back. We’re just going to have to be careful for a good bit longer. It’s very unrealistic in coun-tries with community transmission that we’re going to be seeing large gatherings like that this year. Right now, it’s hard to see those fully re-opened venues.”

Venues confirmed for AFC Cup West Zone matchesAFC - KUALA LUMPUR

The Bahrain Football Associ-ation, Kuwait Football Asso-ciation and Jordan Football Association have been confirmed as the host Member Associations for the 2020 AFC Cup West Zone matches in Groups A, B and C respectively.

The AFC Cup action in the West Zone will kick off on October 23, 2020 with Group C leaders Qadsia SC from Kuwait taking on Oman’s Dhofar Club.

Meanwhile, teams from Groups A and B will restart their campaigns three days later on October 26 with matches from all three groups scheduled to conclude on November 4, 2020.

The single-leg West Zonal Semi-finals will take place on November 23 and 24 before the final two teams compete in the West Zonal final on December 1 for a place in the AFC Cup final against the winners of the Inter-zone play-off on December 12.

We still have chance to win QSL title: Al Rayyan coach

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US Open cuts prize money

REUTERS – NEW YORK

US Open singles winners will receive $850,000 less prize money this year, the United States Tennis Association said on Wednesday, with first-round prize money increasing.

The Tennis Grand Slam, which begins on August 31 in New York, will take place without fans and some of the sports' biggest stars, amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak across the United States.

The $53.4m total prize pool is down from last year's $57m pot, the richest in the tourna-ment's history, with 2020 first-round prize money jumping 5% to $61,000 from $58,000. Singles winners will receive $3m, down from $3.85m in 2019.

Runners up will receive $1.5m, down from $1.9m the year before. Semi- and quarter-finalists will also see their win-nings dip slightly.

"The prize money distri-bution for the 2020 US Open is the result of close collaboration between the USTA, WTA and ATP, and represents a com-mitment to supporting players and their financial well-being during an unprecedented time," USTA CEO Mike Dowse said in a written statement.

WEEK 20 FIXTURES TODAY

Al Rayyan vs Al Sailiya (16:30, Al Janoub Stadium)Al Wakrah vs Al Arabi (18:45, Al Sadd Stadium)

TOMORROWAl Gharafa vs Al Khor (16:30, Al Janoub Stadium) Al Shahania vs Qatar SC (18:45, Al Sadd Stadium)

SATURDAYUmm Salal vs Al Ahli (16:30, Al Janoub Stadium)

Al Sadd vs Al Duhail (18:45, Al Sadd Stadium)

Al Rayyan players taking part in a practise session ahead of their QNB Stars League Week 20 match against Al Sailiya, which will be played at Al Janoub Stadium today.