Two sides looking to halt a poor run of form in the Saudi Pro League will meet on Thursday afternoon, when Al Khaleej take on Al Ittihad at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium.
Both teams are coming into this match following defeats over the weekend, which left the hosts in 11th place and the visitors in fifth with three games left to play this season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Barring a dramatic turn of events, Al Khaleej will likely look back at the 2023-24 campaign as a progressive one after last season saw them battle to the very final day to secure their top-flight status.
Indeed, mathematically they are still at risk of being relegated this term, but they are already five points ahead of the 31-point tally they posted last season, and with an eight-point buffer above 16th-placed Al-Akhdoud, Al-Danah require just one point from their final three matches to guarantee their safety.
However, Pedro Emanuel's side enter gameweek 32 in poor form and suffered their 13th league defeat of the season over the weekend at home to Al Wehda, when Nigerian international Odion Ighalo once again did the damage against them, netting a brace after scoring a hat-trick in the reverse fixture back in November.
That result extended their current winless streak in the league to six games, including three draws and three losses and was also their sixth home match without a victory. Al Khaleej have not won a single match in Dammam since the league resumed following the AFC Asian Cup back in February.
While the hosts would love nothing more than to bring their dismal home record in 2024 to an end here, their recent history in this fixture suggests they may struggle to do so, having failed to beat this opponent in their last seven league meetings (W5 D2 L0), including a 4-2 loss in the reverse fixture back in November last year.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, last week was a dismal one for Al Ittihad, who were not only forced to hand over the Saudi Pro League title to Al-Hilal, but also had to endure a 5-0 thumping at the hands of Al Ettifaq on their home ground.
Heading into that match, Nadi Al-Sha'ab had ruled out as many as 13 first-team players for the contest due to injury, fielding a side that featured only two foreign professionals in Brazilian attacker Romarinho and Frenchman N'Golo Kante.
Karl Toko Ekambi scored twice in four minutes at the end of the first half to send Steven Gerrard's side into the break 4-0 up before getting his third just 10 minutes after the interval to extend the margin to five. The result marked Al Ittihad's heaviest defeat since the 2015-16 season when they beaten by the same scoreline by Al-Nassr.
Adding to what was already a torrid week for Ittihad supporters, the club announced on Tuesday that they would be parting ways with manager Marcelo Gallardo by mutual decision, though there is still widespread speculation that the Argentine tactician, who has since been linked with a move to Serie A giants AC Milan, had been dismissed but will remain in the dugout for the final three games.
The visitors are now on a four-match losing streak in all competitions, and after going unbeaten in their first five away games of the season (W4 D1 L0), they have only managed to win three of the last 10 on their travels (W3 D2 L5).
Team News
© Reuters
After a VAR review against Al Wehda, Nayef Masoud was adjudged to have handled a goal-bound shot inside the box which led to a second yellow in the match, and he will serve his one-game suspension in this one.
Al Khaleej have just one injury doubt for this match in Fabio Martins, who picked up a knock against Al-Nassr in the side's King's Cup loss at the start of the month and has missed the last two league matches.
As mentioned, Al Ittihad have a laundry list of absentees at present, including their marquee signing Karim Benzema, who has now missed the last four games through injury after returning to Real Madrid for treatment.
Fabinho, Luiz Felipe, Abderrazak Hamdallah, Ahmed Sharahili, Ahmed Bamasud, Sultan Al-Farhan and Abdullah Al-Mayouf are all among the players that are currently on the Ittihad treatment table.
Al Khaleej possible starting lineup:
Al-Mahasnah; Al Yami, Al-Mosa, Kadesh, Al Jaadi; F Al-Ghamdi, Kante, A Al-Ghamdi; Al Amri, Romarinho, Al-Sahafi
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Hamsal, Lopez, Al-Shanqiti, Rebocho; Hawsawi, Jung, Rodrigues; Narey, Al Salem, Al-Torais
We say: Al Khaleej 1-1 Al Ittihad
While Al Ittihad enter this match with an excellent record against this opponent, they are missing a host of their starters and seem to have thrown in the towel for the season. Al Khaleej need a single point to secure their top-flight status and could not have chosen a better time to face Nadi Al-Sha'ab. We feel the hosts will take at least a point from this contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
