The final match on Thursday in the Saudi Pro League will come to us from the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium where Al Ittihad will be playing host to Al Raed.
The hosts will enter this match in second place in the league standings with 37 points, while the the visitors are on 14 points, just two points above the dotted line after 14 games.
Match preview
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After ending a massive 42 points behind Al-Hilal last season, Al Ittihad have kept up with the pace of the defending champs this term, with both sides entering matchday 15 locked on 37 points apiece.
However, the People's Club did relinquish the lead in the top flight last weekend when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al Fayha, while the Blue Waves secured a commanding 5-0 victory over Al-Orobah on the road.
Still, that result took Laurent Blanc's side to 10 league matches unbeaten, nine of which ended in victory, while they have still only lost one game in the Pro League this term, which was to Al-Hilal back in September.
The hosts have been flawless at home this season, winning all eight of their matches at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, scoring a total of 21 goals in that time, including two or more in seven of those fixtures.
In addition to their excellent attacking output, which ranks second in the league this season, Al Ittihad have also been solid in defence, conceding just 10 goals to date - the fewest of any team in the division.
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Meanwhile, Al Raed have struggled to find their best form this season, managing just four wins in their first 14 games, and a defeat here could see them sucked into the relegation scrap if results elsewhere go against them.
The Pioneer Club booked their spot in the semi-final of the King's Cup by beating Al Jabalain on penalties last week, but returned to the league competition with a 2-0 defeat at home to Damac over the weekend.
That result marked Odair Hellmann's side's third consecutive loss in the top flight, while they have only won one of their last six league games since the start of November and failed to score in four of those matches.
However, despite their poor form either side of New Year, Al Raed did beat this opponent 3-1 in their last encounter in December of last season, and have only lost one of the last three encounters between the sides in the Pro League.
Team News
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The hosts have several players listed on their injury report at present, including the likes of N'Golo Kante (muscle), Moussa Diaby (knock), Abdulaziz Al-Bishi (hamstring) and Abdulelah Al-Amri (muscle).
Steven Bergwijn has been in good form lately, scoring three goals in his last five league games, but he sustained a knock in the draw against Al Fayha last time out and is flagged as a minor doubt for this match.
Al Raed have just one known injury absentee for this trip to Jeddah in the form of Mohammed Fouzair, who tore his cruciate ligament at the end of October and will remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Karim El Berkaoui has scored five goals in just eight appearances this season, including three in his last four matches, and he will almost certainly lead the line this week alongside Amir Sayoud, who has seven goal involvements in 13 outings.
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Al Shanqeeti, Pereira, Kadesh, Mitaj; Al Nashri, Fabinho; Al-Bishi, Aouar, Bergwijn; Benzema
Al Raed possible starting lineup:
Sunyur; Al-Jayzani, Gonzalez, Qasmi; Al Dossary, Abeid, Normann, Al-Yousef; Al Hawsawi; Sayoud, El Berkaoui
We say: Al Ittihad 3-1 Al Raed
While Al Raed have fared well in this fixture in recent times, Al Ittihad are have not dropped a single point at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium this season, and we feel the hosts will win this one with relative ease.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
