Dammam: Ettifaq coach Ammar Al Suwayeh is set to be without No 1 goalkeeper Faiz Al Subaiei and Brazilian midfielder Bruno Lazaroni due to injury for today's meeting with Oman's Al Suwaiq in the last 16 of the AFC Cup.
Al Subaiei featured in the first five games of the group stage as Ettifaq secured qualification and crucial home advantage in round 16 with a game to spare, before Mohammad Khojah took over as Al Suwayeh's side and sealed an unbeaten record in Group C with a 3-1 win over Lebanon's Al Ahed, earlier this month.
Lazaroni, meanwhile, has only made one appearance during the campaign, but his absence limits the options available to Al Suwayeh as Ettifaq look to continue their impressive AFC Cup debut by securing a place in September's quarter-finals with a win in the one-off tie.
"It is disappointing that we will be without two of our key players in front of a strong team who will be looking for a good result after their fine performance in the group stage," said Al Suwayeh, who was appointed following the departure of Croatian coach Branko Ivancovic at the end of April.
Fouth-place finish
While AFC Champions League play-off losers Ettifaq rounded off the Saudi League season with a fourth-place finish prior to the win over Al Ahed, Al Suwayeh's side beat Bahrain's Busaiteen 4-2 last week in a friendly.
However, despite Ettifaq scoring 18 goals in the group stage, with Argentinian striker Sebastian Tagliabue contributing eight, Al Suwayeh is wary of the threat posed by Group A runners-up Al Suwaiq.
"We will meet a strong team and they deserve to be here after their good performances," he said.
