Al Ittihad and Al-Taawoun will be looking to secure their second win of the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League season when they face off at King Abdullah Sports City on Thursday night.
Both teams made winning starts to the new league campaign and enter gameweek two among only seven teams that took all three points over the opening weekend in the top flight.
Match preview
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The 2023-24 league season proved to be a significant step backwards for Al Ittihad, as they were forced to not only relinquish the title but also missed out on continental cup competition, finishing in fifth place.
Despite bringing in several big names, including the likes of Fabinho, N'Golo Kante, Karim Benzema and Jota, Nadi Al-Sha'ab only managed 54 points in their 34 games, ending the campaign 42 points behind league champions Al-Hilal.
Given their poor performance, the club opted to part ways with Argentine tactician Marcelo Gallardo at the end of the term and replaced him with former Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc last month.
The Frenchman lost his first three pre-season friendlies after arriving in Jeddah but notched up a 2-0 win earlier this month against Inter Milan and followed up with a 1-0 win over Al Kholood in his first Pro League match in charge last weekend.
However, that victory was far from convincing, as his side looked destined to share the spoils, but snatched the points four minutes into stoppage time, thanks to a goal by new signing Houssem Aouar, who arrived from Roma this summer.
Next up for Blanc is Al-Taawoun, who had an impressive 2023-24 season, as they were the only side to challenge the dominance of the PIF-owned quartet, finishing five points ahead of the upcoming opponents.
Perhaps what makes the Wolves' performance last term all the more impressive is that they spent a fraction compared to the rest of the top five teams on new signings, with Musa Barrow being their most expensive arrival at around £7m.
However, despite their top-four finish, the club replaced Brazilian Pericles Chamusca with former UAE national team and Egyptian Premier League outfit Pyramids manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena at the start of last month.
Al-Taawoun lost their first competitive match under their Argentine boss 2-0 to Al-Nassr, but like Al Ittihad, managed to just about sneak a victory in their first league match of the season, scoring in the 95th minute against Al Fayha last week.
Matches between these two are typically very close, with both games last season ending level, while the side playing at home won the match in each of the two league games in the 2022-23 campaign.
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Al Ittihad have two long-term absentees during the early stages of this season in the form of Ahmed Sharahili and Ahmed Bamasud, both of whom are facing extended periods on the sideline due to cruciate ligament tears.
Blanc has wasted no time shaking things up since his arrival, handing Moussa Diaby a starting role over the weekend in place of Jota, who the Frenchman has confirmed is not part of his plans this season.
Al Taawoun, on the other hand, are missing three players for this match, with Rakan Al-Tulayhi (cruciate ligament), Mateus (tendon) and Mohammed Mahzari (knock) all ruled out through injury.
Brazilian defender Luis Felipe reportedly picked up an injury in training and is flagged as a doubt, while Ibrahim Al-Shuail will be forced into a watching brief after being shown red over the weekend.
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Al Yami, Mousa, Al-Shanqeeti, Kadesh; Kante, Fabinho; Diaby, Aouar, Al-Ghamdi; Benzema
Al-Taawoun possible starting lineup:
Maylson; Al-Jumayah, Girotto, Al-Ahmed, Al Nasser; El Mahdioui, Al Kuwaykibi, Flavio, Bahusayn, Barrow; Dos Santos
We say: Al Ittihad 1-1 Al-Taawoun
Despite winning their matches, both these sides made fairly underwhelming starts to the season last weekend and looked as though they are yet to find top gear after the summer break. This should be a very even contest and we feel there will be nothing to split these two at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
