The final match of Friday's Saudi Pro League action will come from King Abdullah Sports City, where a stuttering Al Ittihad will be playing host to Al Ettifaq.
Al Ittihad will enter this contest with 50 points and in fifth place in the league standings, while Al Ettifaq are eighth and one of four teams tied on 41 points after 30 games.
Match preview
© Reuters
The 2023-24 campaign has been a forgettable one for Al Ittihad. They are likely to hand over the Saudi Pro League title to Al-Hilal this weekend, which will confirm that they will end the season without silverware.
The People's Club's final opportunity to win a trophy was ended by the Blue Waves in the King's Cup final at the end of last month, and they followed up that disappointment with a shock 3-1 loss to Abha last week.
Pitso Mosimane's relegation-threatened team secured victory with three second-half goals, extending Ittihad's current losing streak to three matches in all competitions and leaving them five points behind their PIF-owned rivals.
Following that defeat, Marcelo Gallardo chose not to address the press, and his decision to forgo post-match press conferences and favour direct interaction with the media could potentially lead to repercussions from the league authorities.
In their last five matches across all competitions, Al Ittihad have only secured one victory and suffered four defeats. Notably, their sole win in that time was against the struggling bottom team Al Hazem, where they squandered a two-goal lead and needed a stoppage-time own goal by their opponents to claim the points.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Al Ettifaq were tipped to challenge the PIF-owned giants at the start of the season, but things have not gone as planned, and they are now in a heated battle to finish the season in the top half of the table.
Indeed, with four teams tied on the same number of points, the Commandos still have an opportunity to improve their league position before the end of the campaign, but they have failed to win any of their last three matches, with the most recent ending in a 2-1 defeat at home to Al Fayha last week.
Moussa Dembele got on the scoresheet in the last match, but Fashion Sakala's brace was enough to earn the Orange the victory, bringing an end to Ettifaq's four-match unbeaten run on home soil.
Steven Gerrard, who brought the likes of Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum to the Middle East in the past, is set to bring in another familiar face from Anfield to the Pro League in the summer. This time, though, he is reportedly adding reinforcements to the back office in the form of goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, who has been with the Reds for over a decade.
While bringing in Achterberg's experience will undoubtedly help the team, Gerrard will need to address issues at the other end of the field in the summer. His team have only managed 36 goals this season, the worst tally of any side in the top half, and almost three times fewer than the likes of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr.
Team News
© Reuters
Karim Benzema will not feature in this match, having returned to his former club Real Madrid last week, where he will undergo treatment for the recurring injury setbacks he has endured this season. However, he is just one of a number of absentees for the hosts here.
Top-scorer Abderrazak Hamdallah missed the loss to Abha and is a doubt, meaning the side could be without their two recognised strikers for this match. In addition, Ittihad's entire first-choice backline, including Ahmed Sharahili, Ahmed Bamasud, Luiz Felipe, Madallah Al-Olayan and Omar Hawsawi are all ruled out through injury.
In midfield, the hosts will have to make do without Fabinho, who is likely out for the rest of the season, along with Hamed Al-Ghamdi and Sultan Al-Farhan, both of whom have missed the last three matches.
Al Ettifaq have no reported injuries heading into this match, although Gerrard may consider shaking things up after his side's blunt performance against Al Fayha last weekend.
Among those who will be hoping to return to the starting 11 is Demarai Gray, who was given the best part of the second half last week. Haroune Camara is the most likely of the three-man frontline to make way for Gray's return.
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Al-Mayouf; Al Yami, Al Mosa, Kadesh, Al Jaadi; F Al-Ghamdi, Kante, A. Al-Ghamdi; Al-Amri, Romarinho, Jota
Al Ettifaq possible starting lineup:
Victor; Yousef, Hendry, Madu, Otaibi; Fofana, Medran, Wijnaldum; Ekambi, Dembele, Gray
We say: Al Ittihad 1-1 Al Ettifaq
Both these sides enter this match in poor form, and while the hosts are the marginal favourites, their extensive injury list does not inspire much confidence in their chances. On the flip side, Al Ettifaq have struggled in attack this season, as evidenced last week when they had 17 shots at goal but only found the net once.
While both teams need a victory here, we feel they will end up having to settle for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
