Al Raed will be looking to climb out of last place in the Saudi Pro League when they take on Al Ettifaq at the Abdullah Al-Dabil Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts have a much better starting position as they currently sit in seventh place in the table, which they consolidated with a 3-2 win over Al Wehda in the last round, while the visitors suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Al Fateh.
Match preview
© Reuters
Al Ettifaq have been on the decline for about a month and have won only once, also suffering three defeats and a draw in the last 30 days, with the only win coming against Al Wehda last Saturday.
After a 0-0 draw with Al Ahli and defeats to Al Fateh and Al Riyadh, they have fallen out of the top four and currently sit in seventh place with 20 points, but even with a bumpy run of games, they are only three points behind fourth-placed Al Fateh and have all to play for in the final stages of the season.
Steven Gerrard's side were also eliminated from the King Cup in midweek after losing 1-0 to Al-Nassr after extra time, despite Al Ettifaq playing virtually the entire second half on the front foot with a player advantage after Al-Nassr's Anderson Talisca was sent off in the 11th minute of first-half stoppage time.
The team's home record, however, is relatively impressive this season, with three wins and a draw in five games, the only defeat coming almost a month ago against Al Fateh.
© Reuters
Al Raed, on the other hand, have gone not just a month but two months without a win in the Saudi Pro League, including five defeats, each with two or more goals conceded.
The last two games after the international break in October were lost, albeit quite narrowly, to Al Hazm and Al Fateh by just one goal.
Igor Jovicevic's men have performed very poorly away from home this season, failing to win a single game so far and picking up just two points out of a possible 15 in five games.
To make matters worse, they are also the second-worst offensive team on the road this season, scoring only four goals on their travels.
Team News
© Reuters
The hosts will have to do without midfielder Ali Hazazi in this match after he was sent off with an outright red card in the King Cup match against Al-Nassr.
He was an integral part of the team in central midfield alongside captain Jordan Henderson and his former Liverpool teammate Georginio Wijnaldum, though Abdullah Al-Khaibari could start in his place on Saturday.
Another injury setback for Gerrard's team is the absence of Moussa Dembele, who leads Al Ettifaq's scoring charts with seven goals this season.
Robin Quaison is his direct replacement, but has not been able to match the Frenchman's goalscoring qualities.
The visitors have neither suspensions nor injury worries ahead of Saturday's match and are expected to field a 4-4-2 formation as usual.
Amir Sayoud, Mohamed Fouzair and Karim El Berkaoui have been Al Raed's most successful players this season, scoring a combined eight goals in the first 11 games of the Saudi Pro League.
Al Ettifaq possible starting lineup:
Victor; Yousef, Tisserand, Hendry, Al-Shamrani; Henderson, Wijnaldum, Al-Khaibari; Gray, Al-Kuwaykibi, Quaison
Al Raed possible starting lineup:
Moreira; Al-Dosari, Gonzalez, Loum, Al-Jayzani; Normann, Al Bishi, Sunbul, Fouzair; Tavares, Saayoud
We say: Al Ettifaq 3-1 Al Raed
Although Al Ettifaq were eliminated from the King Cup in midweek, they are still the team with much more offensive potential than the visitors.
Their last win in the league was a sign of things getting back to normal before things went downhill in early October, and Gerrard's men will be eager to build on their last win in the league and forget the disappointment of the defeat during the week.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
