Two teams currently in need of a pick-me-up go head to head in round 13 of the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League season as Al Fayha welcome Al Ettifaq to Al Majma'ah Sports City on Saturday.
The home side are winless in their last five games, while the away side boast just one win in six matches leading up to this weekend's contest.
Match preview
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Al Ettifaq had to make do with a share of the spoils as they played out a goalless stalemate against Al Raed in Saturday's encounter at the Abdullah Al Dabil Stadium.
Steven Gerrard's men were in the ascendancy for large spells of the contest but failed to convert their dominance into anything significant.
As a result, the Knights of Ad-Dahna have dropped down to seventh place in the Saudi Pro League table, four points behind the last continental place.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have not come out on top in any of the 14 previous editions of this fixture dating back to 2014.
Ahead of a mouth-watering matchup against Al Ittihad 13 days later, Saturday's visitors now go in search of a morale-boosting win in their final outing before the international break.
Al Fayha fell to a 3-2 defeat against Al Ain in the sides' AFC Champions League group-stage clash at the King Fahd International Stadium on Tuesday.
Vuk Rasovic's men found themselves two down at half time thanks to Kodjo Laba's brace but soon halved the deficit through Anthony Nwakaeme before Soufiane Rahimi put the result beyond doubt, rendering Muhannad Al Qaydhi's late strike inconsequential.
Prior to that, the Mills of Sudair played out thrilling a 3-3 draw against Al Taee which saw them remain ninth in the standings with 15 points from 12 matches.
Off the back of three straight defeats on home turf across all competitions, Saturday's hosts will be keen to get back to winning ways in front of their fans.
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Team News
Al Fayha's Muhannad Al Qaydhi found the back of the net on his return to the starting lineup and could be rewarded with another place in the XI here.
Having scored in both of his last two matches for the home side, 34-year-old Anthony Nwakaeme will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Abdullah Hazzazi is eligible to feature for Al Ettifaq here having served a one-game suspension in the draw against Al Raed last time out.
Frenchman Moussa Dembele remains out of contention for the visitors, meaning that Mohammed Al Kuwaykibi will be tasked with leading the line once again.
Al Fayha possible starting lineup:
Stojkovic; Al Khalaf, Haqawi, Al Shuwaish, Al Qayhi, Konan; Mandash, Kaabi, Cimirot, Sakala; Nwakaeme
Al Ettifaq possible starting lineup:
Victor; Khateeb, Hendry, Tisserand, Abdulrahman; Henderson, Mahzari, Wijnaldum; Gray, Al Ghamdi, Al Kuwaykibi
We say: Al Fayha 1-2 Al Ettifaq
The teams boast similar defensive records heading into this one but Al Ettifaq have been the better side offensively. We are backing the away side to just about get the job done come the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
