All eyes are on the Olympic Port Stadium in Basra on Thursday evening, where Duhok Club will be a guest to Basra Oil in a match held for the 31st round of the Iraqi Stars League, at 5:30 PM, within the struggle for points between the ambition of competition and the hope of survival.

The first leg match between the two teams in the first stage ended with Duhok winning by one goal to none, a result that gives the visiting team a moral advantage before the return match, especially since they are looking to overcome the decline that has accompanied them in recent matches.

Duhok enters the match after a period of technical fluctuations, following their historic crowning with the Gulf Champions League title, as the team has been unable to maintain a positive results rhythm, having lost one match, drawn another, and won a third with difficulty, which has led their Swedish coach, Masoud Miral, to try to rearrange the cards before entering the decisive stages of the league.

Duhok relies on a group of distinguished names that have directly contributed to achieving titles recently, which enhances the team's ambitions to return to the right path, but the task will not be easy against a team fighting for survival.

As for Basra Oil, they are going through a very difficult period this season, as they occupy the 18th position in the standings and are struggling to escape the specter of relegation. The team is experiencing a clear results crisis, having suffered four defeats and one draw in the last five matches, in addition to the harsh loss in the last round against Al-Zawraa with a clean three-goal defeat.

The situation becomes more difficult in light of the absence of real fan support, which makes the team play its home matches without additional motivation from the stands, negatively reflecting on their performance and results.

This match is crucial for both teams, as Duhok seeks points to strengthen its position among the top teams, while Basra Oil fights to avoid further falling to the bottom of the standings.