Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

Preview: Al Ittihad vs. Al Okhdood - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 6 March 2024, 16:47
Al Ittihad will be looking to bounce back to winning ways in the Saudi Pro League when they play host to Al Okhdood at Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium on Friday afternoon.

The defending champions will head into this game in fifth place with 37 points, while the visitors are 13th in the league standings with 23 points after 22 matches this season.

Match preview

With 36 points to play for between now and the end of the season, it is almost certain that Al Ittihad will not defend their league title this term, as following their 3-1 defeat to Al Hilal last week, they are now 25 points behind the runaway league leaders.

Following last week's league defeat, Al-Numoor suffered another blow in their quest for silverware this season on Tuesday night, losing 2-0 in the first leg of their AFC Champions League tie to the Blue Waves.

With a record of four wins, one draw and three losses since taking over from Nuno Espirito Santo, the pressure will be building on Marcelo Gallardo to find a run of good results, and he will be looking for a positive performance from his side here ahead of a few favourable league fixtures.

This season at Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Al Ittihad have managed six wins, one draw, and suffered four losses in 11 Saudi League matches, though three of those were against the sides that currently hold the top three places in the league standings.

Nadi Al-Sha'ab won the reverse fixture 1-0 back in September last year thanks to a second-half goal by Karim Benzema and they are the clear favourites in this one, according to the bookmakers.

Meanwhile, newly promoted Al Okhdood would have been relatively pleased with their output over the first half of the season and head into gameweek 23 five points clear of Al Tai, who are the first side below the dotted line.

Much of their joy can be attributed to the introduction of Martin Sevela, who made a very positive start to his tenure as manager, securing three wins and a draw in his first four matches since joining midway through November.

However, following an against-the-odds 3-2 victory in their first match after the international break against Al Ahli, the new manager will now be hoping to avoid a third straight league defeat, having lost the last two games 3-1 to Al Taawoun and 2-1 to Al Riyadh last week.

Their underdog status here is warranted, though, as the Najran-based club have failed to win any of their last six away games in the top flight (W0 D1 L5) and failed to score in four games during this current winless run.

Al Ittihad Saudi Pro League form:

L

L

W

W

W

L

Al Okhdood Saudi Pro League form:

W

W

D

W

L

L

Team News

Al Ittihad are missing several key players at the moment, starting with Saad Al-Mousa, who will be serving the second of his three-match ban for the straight red he received against Al Wehda at the end of last month.

In addition, Abdullah Al-Jadani, Ahmed Sharahili and Ahmed Bamasud are all likely to miss the remainder of the season due to cruciate ligament tears, while Luiz Felipe is still nursing a muscle injury and will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

For the visitors, Hassan Al-Habib was withdrawn shortly after the hour mark against Al Riyadh last week and could make way for Saleh Al-Harthi to return to the starting 11 in this match.

Leandre Tawamba leads the side with five goals in all competitions this season and should maintain his place in attack alongside Nigerian forward Saviour Godwin and Real Betis loanee Alex Collado.

Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:

Maiouf; Hawsawi, Hegazy, Mosa, Sahafi; Farhan, Fabinho, Kante; Benzema, Hamdallah, Romarinho

Al Okhdood possible starting lineup:

Vitor; Al Zabdani, Kvirkvelia, Burca, Al Mansour; Pedroza, Al-Muwallad, Al-Harthi; Collado, Tawamba, Godwin

We say: Al Ittihad 2-1 Al Okhdood

Al Akhdoud have shown major signs of improvement since the introduction of their new manager, but their away record is still very poor with five losses in their last six. Al Ittihad need a positive result here following back-to-back defeats in the league and cup and we feel they will be able to grind out a win in this one.

Previews by email
Show more

Top News

13 January 2025 talksport.com Ligue 1 have issued a statement to hit back at Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor's explosive comments about Paris Saint-Germain. 13 January 2025 talksport.com Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor appears to be in hot water having reportedly called of one of his Lyon players an 'a**hole'. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Buoyed by their Spanish Super Cup success, Barcelona will be looking to claim another victory when they play host to Real Betis in Wednesday's Copa del Rey clash. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Former Everton winger Pat Nevin has paid tribute to Sean Dyche following his dismissal last week and has commended the Toffees for picking the perfect managerial replacement in David Moyes. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk A Premier League clash of unexpected epic proportions is in store at the City Ground on Tuesday evening, where leaders Liverpool pit their wits against third-placed Nottingham Forest. 13 January 2025 talksport.com West Ham are interested in signing Marseille striker Elye Wahi, talkSPORT understands. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Having both put lower-division sides to the sword in FA Cup action over the weekend, Chelsea and Bournemouth hope to carry that momentum forward into Tuesday's Premier League showdown at Stamford Bridge. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk On the back of contrasting third-round results in the FA Cup, Brentford and Manchester City resume Premier League action in Tuesday's meeting at the Gtech Community Stadium. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bourgoin-Jallieu welcome top-flight opponents Lyon to Stade Pierre Rajon on Wednesday evening for their round of 32 Coupe de France clash in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Kyle Walker is reportedly in the running to feature in Manchester City's Premier League match against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Tuesday night. 13 January 2025 talksport.com The concept of inflation is set to join Erik ten Hag and Lionel Messi on Cristiano Ronaldo's hate list. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides in impressive form will face off this Wednesday as Quevilly host top-flight side Angers at Stade Robert Diochon in Coupe de France round of 32. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk "Brentford are very much an Achilles heel-type team for Manchester City", Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole ahead of Tuesday's Premier League contest between the two sides at the Gtech Community Stadium. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Heidenheim are in the relegation playoff spot in the Bundesliga table heading into Wednesday's gameweek 17 visit to mid-table Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have announced that 19-year-old centre-back Alfie Dorrington has signed a new contract and will spend the rest of the season on loan at Aberdeen. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have reportedly received enquiries from both Real Betis and Olympiacos for Antony. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany is 'worried' that one of the Citizens' academy starlets could replicate Morgan Rogers in leaving the club and starring elsewhere at Premier League level. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have reportedly entered talks with Borussia Dortmund over the possibility of offloading Carney Chukwuemeka on loan. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid will travel to the Estadio Martinez Valero for Wednesday's Copa del Rey clash against second-tier Elche. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to receive a formal offer from AC Milan for Marcus Rashford. 13 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal and Tottenham are both balancing injury-hit squads when they clash for the season's second north London derby this week. 13 January 2025 talksport.com Borussia Dortmund are looking to sign two Chelsea players this month. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Following a brief Premier League pause for the third round of the FA Cup, all 20 top-flight teams resume their respective quests for glory, Europe or to simply salvage their big-time status in midweek. 13 January 2025 talksport.com Luis Enrique offered a peculiar answer when asked about speculation over the future of Randal Kolo Muani at Paris Saint-Germain. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The final Coupe de France fixture in the round of 32 will pit French minnows Espaly-Saint-Marcel against the reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday at Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin. 13 January 2025 talksport.com Manchester United will be fined by the FA for breaching the same rule for a third time this season against Arsenal. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The final match of the round of 16 in the 2024-25 Taca de Portugal will see Braga playing host to Lusitano Evora 1911 at Estadio Municipal de Braga on Wednesday night. 13 January 2025 talksport.com Pep Guardiola didn't hold back when confronted by persistent autograph seekers, delivering a blunt and heated response to them. 13 January 2025 talksport.com Marcus Rashford could be denied a move to Serie A this month by Brexit. 13 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Leicester City and Crystal Palace meet for the 24th time in the Premier League when they lock horns at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday.