Al-Salmiya are looking to strengthen their lead in the league.

KUWAIT CITY, November 19: The eighth round of the Handball League preliminary stage concludes with two matches at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Indoor Halls Complex. Al-Salmiya will face Al-Qurain at 6:30 p.m., while Al-Arabi will face Al-Yarmouk at 5:00 p.m.

Al-Salmiya leads the table with 12 points and wants to consolidate its position and move closer to a place in the Premier League, reserved for the top six teams in the preliminary round. Al-Qurain, currently seventh with 7 points, aims to put in a strong performance and get a positive result to stay in contention for qualification.

In the second match, Al-Arabi are the clear favorites, facing an Al-Yarmouk team who are yet to score a point after six rounds. Al-Arabi enters the match in second place with 10 points, while Al-Yarmouk languishes in 13th place.

The league follows a single-round format in its preliminary stage. The top six teams will advance to the Premier League, which will adopt a three-division format, with teams retaining points earned in the initial phase. The teams ranked seventh through fourteenth will compete in a two-division league to determine the final standings. Matches involving Kuwait and Kazma have been postponed to November 23 due to their participation in the ongoing Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff