Belmadi Demands a Bold Move as Al-Duhail Host Al-Ittihad in West Asia Showdown

Match Preview

Al-Duhail of Qatar will welcome Saudi powerhouse Al-Ittihad on Monday at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, in the fifth round of the West Zone group stage of the Elite AFC Champions League 2025-2026.

Duhail produced their best display of the season by beating Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai FC 4-1 three weeks ago, and they are determined to reproduce that form in a stern test against Al-Ittihad.

They sit seventh on four points, and a victory would lift them above the Saudi side in the standings, as the race for knockout qualification tightens.

Djamel Belmadi, the Algerian coach of Duhail, stressed the magnitude of the clash, saying the game is highly significant for them, and they hope to keep collecting positive results and climb the table.

He added that they have moved on from the league defeat to Al-Ahli, recognizing that the two competitions are different, so focus is now squarely on the AFC Champions League and the Al-Ittihad showdown.

Belmadi noted that they will face a strong team with quality players, requiring maximum effort to achieve the desired result and balance.

He also said all players are ready and aware of the importance of the match, and they expect a strong reaction to regain balance.

Duhail's Italian midfielder Marco Verratti has spoken about the aim of delivering their best performance against Al-Ittihad.

Verratti said preparations were solid, with a focus on producing the best display to secure the result and maintain the positive Continental path.

He added that they face a side with high-caliber players such as Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté and Mousa Diaby. They must give their all to win, as such big matches demand peak effort to harvest three points.

For his part, Al-Ittihad coach Sergio Conceição expressed confidence in a tough assignment and hopes to travel back from Qatar with a positive scoreline.

Danilo Pereira, Al-Ittihad midfielder, also underscored the importance of a win to continue the positive run and secure a spot in the knockout round.

The schedule shows Round 6 of the West Region will be played on December 22-23, with matches including Sharjah vs Al-Hilal in Sharjah, Tractor vs Duhail in Tabriz, Al-Gharafa vs Al Wahda in Al-Rayyan, and Al-Shorta vs Al-Ahli in Baghdad. On December 23, Al-Sadd vs Shabab Al-Ahli in Doha, and Al-Ittihad vs Nasaf in Jeddah are on the slate.

Duhail’s campaign to date: they lost to Al-Hilal 1-2 in Riyadh, drew 2-2 with Al-Ahli in Doha, were defeated 1-3 by Al-Wahda in Abu Dhabi, and then beat Shabab Al-Ahli 4-1 in Doha.

In contrast, Al-Ittihad lost 1-2 to Al-Wahda in Abu Dhabi and 0-1 to Shabab Al-Ahli in Jeddah, before sweeping Al-Shorta 4-1 in Baghdad and defeating Sharjah 3-0 in Jeddah.

The rest of the West Round 5 fixtures on Monday also see Nasaf vs Tractor in Qarshi, Shabab Al-Ahli UAE vs Al-Gharafa in Dubai, and Al-Ahli Saudi vs Sharjah in Jeddah; Tuesday brings Al-Wahda vs Sada in Abu Dhabi and Al-Hilal vs Al-Shorta in Riyadh.

Current West standings see Al-Hilal atop with 12 points, followed by Al-Ahli and Al-Wahda on 10, Tractor on 8, Shabab Al-Ahli on 7, Al-Ittihad on 6, Duhail and Sharjah on 4, Al-Gharafa on 3, Sada on 2, while Nasaf remain on zero.

Each team has eight group-stage games, with the top eight from each region advancing to the Round of 16 in March 2026; the quarterfinals, semis and final will be staged in a Saudi-hosted format in April.

Duhail’s campaign to date: a loss to Al-Hilal, a 2-2 draw with Al-Ahli, a 1-3 defeat to Al-Wahda, and a 4-1 victory over Shabab Al-Ahli.

Al-Ittihad’s results: a 1-2 loss to Al-Wahda, a 0-1 defeat to Shabab Al-Ahli, a 4-1 win over Al-Shorta, and a 3-0 win over Sharjah.

The remainder of the fifth round West fixtures included Nasaf vs Tractor in Qarshi, Shabab Al-Ahli vs Al-Gharafa in Dubai, Al-Ahli vs Sharjah in Jeddah; Tuesday saw Al-Wahda vs Al-Gharafa in Abu Dhabi, and Al-Hilal vs Al-Shorta in Riyadh.

Punchlines: If goals were camels, this match would herd a whole caravan. If football is a math problem, Doha just handed us the equation—Belmadi plus grit equals potential three points, with Conceição hoping for a left-field solution. And if all else fails, blame the ball—it travels faster than some teams’ confidence in this part of the season.