Olunga keen to upset Cazorla's Al Rayyan

Michael Olunga has promised to guide his club Al Duhail past Al Rayyan on Sunday.

The two clubs clash in a Qatar Stars League match at Thani bin Jassim Stadium where former Porto, Monaco, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Everton ace James Rodriguez is expected to make his debut for Al Rayyan. 

Olunga, who tops the scoring chart in the 12-team Qatar top-tier with seven goals, was one week ago on the losing side with Harambee Stars in 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying matches against Mali.

He told his club’s website that Al Duhail are ready to continue their good run in the league. 

"We in Al Duhail are preparing for this match against Al Rayyan like other matches. We know our goal in this match is to win the three points. The return of the international players to the team will have a good impact on the team’s performance," said the 27-year-old.

Olunga added, "I am working hard to help my team, whether it's by scoring or passing the ball to my teammates to score. Everyone is working to get the full points from the match, and, as a striker, I must work to score goals and I will do my best to help the team."

The center-forward reiterated that Al Duhail trusts in his abilities and that is why they contracted him in January for two and a half years. "At the beginning, when I came to Qatar, I entered a period of adaptation. I succeeded in playing good matches in the Champions League. In the league, the two matches I have played were good for me and I succeeded in scoring," he said.

Olunga fired blanks as Harambee Stars lost 5-0 to Mali on October 7 in Morocco and 1-0 on October 10 in the return leg in Nairobi in Group "E" matches.

He has noted that playing for national team and club are two different things.

"When participating with national teams, it is different from participating with clubs, and the strategy in the club is different from the national team. We have to focus after representing our countries. Focus is now on the league as the national team matches are now behind us," he said.

Olunga scored five times as a second half substitute in Al Duhail's 5-0 against Al Sailiya just before the international break. His other goals came in the season-opening match against Al Arabi on September 16.

Defending champions Al Sadd top the 12-team league on 15 points from five matches. Coach Luis Castro's Al Duhail is three points behind after playing four matches. Al Arabi occupy third spot on 12 points from six matches after defeating Al Shamal 3-1 on Saturday.

Al Rayyan, who are preparing to welcome back former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla from injury, occupy sixth place on six points from five matches.