Two sides who picked up contrasting midweek results in the King's Cup square off on Friday as Al Ittihad play host to Al Khaleej at the King Abdullah Sports City in gameweek five of the Saudi Pro League.
Having failed to win the last four meetings between the two teams, the Saihat outfit will head into the weekend looking to get one over the home side and snap their run of four consecutive games without victory.
Match preview
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Al Ittihad returned to winning ways in style as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Al Ain when the two sides locked horns at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in the round of 32 of the King's Cup on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia international Saleh Al-Shehri turned in an eye-catching individual display as he scored on either side of a 29th-minute own goal from Ziyad Al Refaei to hand the hosts a comfortable victory and send Al Ain packing.
This was a much-needed response from Al Ittihad who were beaten 3-1 by Saudi champions Al Hilal at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium just three days earlier — a result which saw their 100% start to the new Pro League campaign come to an end.
Laurent Blanc's men picked up three wins from three games to start the season, seeing off Al Kholood, Al Taawoun and Al Wehda while scoring an impressive 10 goals and conceding twice.
Al Ittihad will be backing themselves to return to league action on a positive note as they take on an opposing side who have failed to win any of the previous 11 encounters between the two teams, losing eight and claiming three draws since October 2014.
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Al Khaleej, on the other hand, were left spitting feathers on Monday when they fell to a 5-2 extra-time defeat against second-tier Al Tai in their King's Cup round-of-32 clash at the Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium.
Ibrahim Al-Salem and Kostas Fortounis scored second-half goals to help the visitors fight back from two goals down and force extra time but Ibrahima Tandia, Abdulaziz Al-Faraj and Leandre Tawamba hit the target for Al Tai to hand them a remarkable victory and send them through to the quarter-finals.
This was in keeping with their struggles in the new Pro League campaign, where Al Khaleej have picked up four points from the first 15 available to sit 13th in the table, five points off Friday's hosts in second place.
Having kicked off the season with a 1-0 victory over Damac on August 23, Georgios Donis's men were quickly sent back down to earth as they suffered consecutive defeats against Al Shabab and Al Taawoun, before playing out a goalless draw with Al Fayha on September 20.
While Al Khaleej will be looking to find their feet this weekend, recent results on their travels offer little optimism as the Saihat outfit have failed to win six of their last seven competitive away matches, losing four and claiming two draws since mid April.
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Team News
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Al Ittihad remain without the services of experienced defender Ahmed Sharahili, who has been ruled out since sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in September 2023.
While Sharahili is expected to be fully fit and back on the pitch by mid October, Ahmed Bamasud continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after also suffering a cruciate ligament tear last December.
Italian defender Luiz Felipe has missed each of the last four games since coming off with a thigh problem in the season opener against Al Kholood on August 24 and the 27-year-old is also out of contention for the hosts.
Karim Benzema came off the bench for the final 20 minutes against Al Ain on Tuesday and the 36-year-old, who has five goals in four league games, should return the XI this weekend, forming the attacking quartet with Steven Bergwijn, Houssem Aouar and former Aston Villa man Moussa Diaby.
As for Al Khaleej, Donis will be unable to call upon the services of Bosnia international Ibrahim Sehic, who is currently suspended after receiving his marching orders in Monday's defeat against Al Tai.
In his absence, 28-year-old Marwan Al-Haidari should start between the sticks this weekend, while the back four of Saeed Al Hamsal, Marcel Tisserand, Mohammed Al-Khabrani and Pedro Rebocho that kept a clean sheet against Al Fayha last Friday should be named this weekend.
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Kadesh, Al-Mousa, Al-Amri, Shanqeeti; Kante, Fabinho; Bergwijn, Aouar, Diaby; Benzema
Al Khaleej possible starting lineup:
Al-Haidari; Al Hamsal, Tisserand, Al-Khabrani, Rebocho; Kourbelis, Al-Semeiry; Narey, Fortounis, Martins; Al Dubais
We say: Al Ittihad 4-1 Al Khaleej
Al Ittihad have assembled a formidable squad this season, and with the experienced Blanc at the helm of affairs, they will be looking to mount a proper title challenge.
While Al Khaleej set out to restore some pride following their humbling cup defeat, Al Ittihad boast the firepower needed to get the job done and we are backing them to come away with all three points unscathed.
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