Al Ittihad will be looking to bounce back from their Super Cup disappointment when they travel to King Abdullah Sport City Stadium to face Al Hazem in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday evening.
The hosts are currently at the foot of the league standings and look destined for the drop, while the visitors are in fifth place and could move up a spot after Al Taawoun dropped points in midweek.
Match preview
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After earning promotion back to the Saudi Pro League last season, Al Hazem's top-flight status is hanging by a thread, as they are seven points behind second-bottom Al Tai and nine points from safety with seven games to play.
The Hazemies are currently on 16 points after 27 games and have only won two matches to date. They suffered their 16th defeat of the season in their last outing, beaten 2-0 by Al Raed on the road, with Julio Tavares bagging a brace for his side on the night.
That result marked Hazem's 11th consecutive league match without a win and was the fifth game in a row that they failed to score a goal dating back to the final weekend of February.
Daniel Carreno's side are also on a five-match losing streak at home ahead of this contest and have the out-and-out worst home record in the top flight this season, with just nine points earned in 13 matches at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.
The hosts managed to take a point (2-2) from the reverse fixture at Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium but have not beaten this opponent in their last four attempts (W0 D2 L2) - a record dating back to October 2019.
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Meanwhile, Al Ittihad's Karim Benzema scored the fastest goal in Saudi Super Cup history during last Monday's match against Al Wehda in Abu Dhabi, helping his side secure a 2-1 victory and a spot in the final.
That goal marked the first of 2024 for the French striker in what has proven to be a frustrating season in Saudi Arabia, plagued by injuries and a lack of productivity. Benzema has managed just nine goals in 20 Saudi Pro League games this term.
The Super Cup represented Al Ittihad's final opportunity to earn a piece of silverware this season, but it was not to be, as they were completely outplayed by Al-Hilal three days later in the final, which saw the Blue Waves lift their first trophy of the season and kept them in the running for the quadruple.
Abderrazak Hamdallah scored the only goal for his side in the final, but after the game, the forward found himself on the receiving end of one fan's anger, as he was targeted by a supporter and responded by squirting water in the man's direction. The fan then remarkably pulled out a whip and swung it at the forward before players and security intervened.
Marcelo Gallardo's side will now return to the league competition, where they have failed to win their last two matches, losing 1-0 to Al-Ahli and drawing goalless against Al Taawoun last time out.
Team News
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Carreno made wholesale changes in the side's defeat to Al Raed, and we could see something similar here with Yazeed Al-Bakr, Azzam Al Salman and Nawaf Al Habashi all in contention to return to the starting 11.
Talal Al-Absi could be deployed at left back in place of Majed Qasheesh, and he will likely join Bruno Viana, Paulo Ricardo and Ahmad Al-Mhemaid in a four-man backline for the hosts.
For the visitors, Abdullah Al-Jadani, Ahmed Sharahili and Ahmed Bamasud have been ruled out for the remainder of the season, with all three players currently dealing with knee injuries.
Jota should return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the Super Cup final, and he will likely join Romarinho in attacking midfield behind the strike duo of Benzema and Hamdallah.
Al Hazem possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Mhemaid, Ricardo, Viana, Al-Absi; Al-Bakr, Al Mousa, Al Salman, Toze, Selemani; Al Sammari
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Al-Maiouf; Al Yami, Felipe, Hegazy, Alolayan; Al Shamrani, Kante, Romarinho, Jota; Benzema, Hamdallah
We say: Al Hazem 0-2 Al Ittihad
With all hopes of earning a piece of silverware now gone for Al Ittihad, their main goal will be to finish the season as close to the top three PIF-owned sides as possible. This is also an ideal fixture for them following their Super Cup heartbreak and we feel they will bounce back from that disappointment with a fairly comfortable win in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
