Al Ettifaq will be looking to keep the pressure on the leaders in the Saudi Pro League when they take on Al Tai at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
The hosts are currently in fifth place in the league standings with 13 points after the first six matches, while the visitors are in ninth place and five points behind their opponents.
Match preview
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Al Ettifaq secured a valuable three points last week, beating Abha 3-1 on the road, with Moussa Dembele, Robin Quaison and Hamed Al Ghamdi all finding the net before Karl Toko Ekambi got a consolation for his side in stoppage time.
With that, Steven Gerrard's side recorded their fourth win in six games, while their only loss so far this term came against the current league leaders Al Hilal at the end of last month.
The Commandos are unbeaten at home this season with two wins and a draw in their first three matches and have only suffered one defeat in their last nine competitive matches on home soil.
While their home record has been solid of late, the hosts will know they are in for a testing encounter here as they have lost each of the last four matches against this opponent dating back to September 2021.
However, with key personnel changes since the last meeting, Al Ettifaq have probably never been better equipped to beat this opponent and will need to do just that in order to keep within striking distance of the mighty PIF-owned powerhouses at the top of the league.
Meanwhile, Al Tai's first six matches of the 2023-24 league season have been average at best, with two wins, three losses and a draw in their most recent match against Al Hazem over the weekend.
After a VAR review, Bernard Mensah gave the Knights of The North the advantage from the spot, but their lead was rubbed out before the break when Toze converted his spot kick for a foul by Hussain Qassem.
Kresimir Rezic's major concern at the moment will be his side's lack of goals, as they failed to score in three of their six games and have only managed three goals so far, which is the lowest of any side in the league.
While the visitors have a very good record against this opponent over the last two seasons, their away form has taken a notable dip in recent times, failing to win any of their last eight league matches on the road either side of the break.
Based on form and the fact that the hosts have bolstered their squad significantly over the summer, it feels like the visitors are going to have to deliver what would be their best performance to date to stand a chance of taking anything from this one.
Team News
Vitinho has not featured since being substituted against Al Hilal two weeks ago and has been ruled out for the foreseeable future, which will likely mean that Dembele will lead the line on his own.
Congolese international Marcel Tisserand will also miss out as he recovers from a muscle injury, though he could be back for next week's match against Jeddah.
Despite maintaining a consistent 4-5-1 formation for the most part in the opening stages of the season, Rezic has shuffled his pack a fair amount, and we could see a few more changes this time as well.
Virgil Misidjan missed out last week against Al Hazm and could return to the starting 11, while Mensah will be hoping that his goal was enough to earn him another start in midfield this week.
Al Ettifaq possible starting lineup:
Victor; Otaibi, Hendry, Al-Khateeb, Al Shamrani; Hazazi, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Al-Ghamdi, Quaison; Dembele
Al Tai possible starting lineup:
Braga; Al Nakhli, Bauer, Roco, Qassem; Semedo, Mohammed, Corea, Al-Shamlan, Mensah; Dugandzic
We say: Al Ettifaq 2-0 Al Tai
The hosts have been solid this season and look to be improving in each match they play, with their big-name players starting to influence those around them. The visitors are yet to win a match on their travels this season and have found goals very hard to come by, which does not inspire much confidence in their chances here.
Therefore, we say the hosts will win this one by two goals.
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