Two sides who could make do with a win face off in round four of the Saudi Professional League as Al Khaleej play host to Al Hazem at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium on Tuesday.
Having failed to win any of their opening three matches, both sides will head into the midweek clash one looking to find their feet and get their season up and running.
Match preview
Al Khaleej were denied their first win of the new Professional League campaign as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium last Thursday.
Despite being on the back foot for most of the game, Fabio Martins gave the visitors the lead in the 29th minute, but Brazilian forward Vitinha restored parity five minutes after the half-time interval.
Prior to that, Pedro Emanuel's men kicked off the season with two back-to-back defeats, losing 3-1 against Al-Fayha in the league opener on August 12, five days before they were beaten by the same scoreline by Al-Ahli.
The Al-Danah's slow start to the season has been owing to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have shipped seven goals already — with only Al-Raed conceding more (8) so far.
Next up for Al Khaleej is an opposing side who have won three of their last four encounters, with a 2-1 loss in the second leg of their relegation playoff clash back in 2019 being the exception.
Like Tuesday's hosts, Al Hazem have endured a sluggish start in their return to the Saudi Arabian top flight as they have managed just one point from the first nine available.
Filipe Gouveia's men won 20 of their 34 matches in the second division last season while claiming eight draws and losing six to collect 68 points and finish third in the table and secure promotion.
However, Al Hazem were given a baptism of fire in the league opener on August 11, when they were beaten 3-1 by Al Ahli, seven days before suffering a 2-0 loss against Al-Ettifaq.
The Hazem Al-Samood responded with a solid defensive performance last Friday when they held their own to play out a goalless draw against Al-Fayha at the King Salman Sport City Stadium.
Team News
Mohamed Sherif enjoyed an impressive debut against Al-Ettifaq and the former Al-Ahly man, who set up Martins's opener last Thursday, should lead the Al Khaleej attack once again.
He will likely be joined in the final third by Portuguese forward Martins and 30-year-old Mansour Hamzi, while Woo-Young Jung and Abdulelah should team up in the centre of the park.
At the defensive end of the pitch, we expect an unchanged centre-back pairing of Lisandro Lopez and Mohammed Al Khabrani, while Omar Al-Aowda is a doubt after coming off injured last Thursday.
Despite his penalty miss against Al-Fayha on Friday, Toze should spearhead Al Hazem's attack for the fourth straight game, alongside Yousef Al-Shammari and former Gremio man Vina.
Following last week's solid defensive display, Farhan Al-Azmi, Abdurahman Al-Dakheel, Bruno Viana and Radhi Al-Oteibi should retain their roles in the back four, with Aymen Dahmen starting between the sticks once again.
Al Khaleej possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Rebocho, Lopez, Al-Khabrani, Al-Aowda; Jung, Abdulelah; Martins, Rodrigues, Hazmi; Sherif
Al Hazem possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Al-Azmi, Al-Dakheel, Viana, Al-Oteibi; Traore, Al-Sayyali, Al-Habashi; Shammari, Vina, Toze
We say: Al Khaleej 1-1 Al Hazem
Al Khaleej and Al Hazem have stumbled into the new Professional League campaign and will head into Tuesday in search of a pick-me-up. Both sides are evenly matched on paper and we predict that they will cancel out each other's efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
