Aiming to bounce back to winning ways and stretch their lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League table, Al Ittihad will welcome Al Riyadh to the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium on Thursday.
The hosts now sit four points clear at the summit after three straight draws, while their visitors sit ninth spot with a victory at the weekend.
Match preview
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Al Ittihad return to the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium on Thursday aiming to bounce back to winning ways and strengthen their Saudi Pro League title bid.
In their search for a 10th top-flight title, after finishing fifth in their latest defence last time around, Nadi Al-Sha’ab have enjoyed a strong campaign thus far, sitting in the top two for almost the entirety thus far having earned 58 points from their first 24 outings.
Laurent Blanc‘s side have lost just two of those games and just one in their last 20 matches since late September, winning 15 of those to move to the summit.
Following four straight victories last month, Nadi Al-Sha’ab do now head into Thursday’s contest having had to settle for draws in their last three attempts, firstly sharing the points with Al Khaleej and Al Okhdood before visiting Al Quadisiya last time out and playing out a third straight 1-1 draw.
N’Golo Kante snatched them a point in that game with a 96th-minute leveller, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang broke the deadlock in injury time, and having now seen their lead over second-placed Al-Hilal cut to four points with 10 games remaining, Al-Ittihad will go in search of a 19th league win of the season to move further clear again.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Jeddah in search of a second straight win, having ended a tough run of form at the weekend.
Following a 14th-placed finish last time around, Al Riyadh enjoyed a strong first half to the 2024-25 campaign, sitting seventh at the end of January having earned 28 points from their first 18 outings, winning eight of those and only losing six.
Sabri Lamouchi‘s side would then experience somewhat of a slump, though, going without a victory in their next five outings across February and early March as draws with Al-Hilal and Al Fayha came between defeats to Al Kholood, Al Raed and Al Quadisiya.
Then aiming to bounce back having dropped out of the top eight following that tough run, they hosted Al Okhdood on Saturday and succeeded in returning to winning ways, as Sekou Lega netted the only goal of the game five minutes from time.
Still sitting ninth and just one point behind eighth-placed Al-Taawoun and two behind seventh-placed Al Ettifaq, Al Riyadh will hope to take a major scalp on Thursday to make it consecutive league wins for the first time since December and strengthen their standing in the Saudi Pro League’s top half.
Team News
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Al Ittihad could be unchanged from their draw last Thursday, with defender Mario Mitaj set to remain sidelined by an injury.
Karim Benzema will continue to lead the line, having notched up 16 goals and eight assists in 21 Saudi Pro League appearances this term.
He will have plenty of support from the dangerous trio of Steven Bergwijn, Houssem Aouar and Moussa Diaby, who leads the division with 13 assists this season, while Fabinho and N’Golo Kante form an accomplished midfield pairing with three Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues between them.
Sabri Lamouchi may also field an unchanged starting XI after AL Riyadh’s win at the weekend, although Sekou Lega has a claim to return to the attack from the outset after netting the only goal of that game from the bench.
He could rejoin Faiz Selemani and Ibraheem Bayesh in a front three, with joint-top scorer Toze likely remaining out of action.
Elsewhere, Lucas Kal and Bernard Mensah are key men in midfield and should again be joined by Yahya Al-Shehri in the middle of their 4-3-3 setup.
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Al-Sqoor, Pereira, Al-Mousa, Fagihy; Fabinho, Kante; Bergwijn, Aouar, Diaby; Benzema
Al Riyadh possible starting lineup:
Borjan; Al-Nuweqi, Barbet, Asiri, Al-Khaibri; Kal, Mensah, Al-Shehri; Selemani, Lega, Bayesh
We say: Al Ittihad 2-1 Al Riyadh
While Al Riyadh will have renewed confidence from their return to winning ways and will make it tough for an Al Ittihad side on the back of three straight draws, the hosts have more than enough quality to bounce back and should come out on top on home turf.
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