Round six of the 2023 Saudi Pro League season sees Al Khaleej entertain the challenge of Al Fateh at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium on Friday.
Both teams ran out comfortable winners in their respective most recent encounters and will be looking to pick up where they left off last time out.
Match preview
Al Khaleej exhibited great powers of recovery to claim a 3-1 victory over Al Shabab when the sides faced off at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on September 2.
Pedro Emanuel's men trailed to Iago Santos's opener but restored parity six minutes shy of the break through Mansour Hamzi, before second-half goals from Fabio Martins and Mohamed Sherif completed the turnaround.
As a result, the Saihat-based outfit have moved up to 12th in the Saudi Pro League table, just one point adrift of a place in the top half.
Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing team who boast just one win from the previous eight editions of this fixture across all competitions.
Having picked up three victories and one draw from their last five matches on home turf, Friday's hosts have turned a corner in front of their fans and will back themselves to get the job done here.
Al Fateh put on a five-star performance in their emphatic 5-1 triumph over Al Ahli SC at the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium two Saturdays ago.
After going behind to an Abbas Al Hassan own goal, Slaven Bilic's men hit back through Feras Al Brikan after which Mourad Batna's double in between strikes from Lucas Zelarayan and Sofiane Bendebka wrapped up a commanding win.
With eight points amassed from their five matches this term, the Sons of the Palm sit seventh in the standings, three points clear of this weekend's opponents.
Unbeaten in four games on the road leading up to Friday's contest, the visitors have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack away from home of late.
Team News
Al Khaleej's Abdulelah Mohamed will not play any part here as he serves a suspension after received his marching orders in the win over Al Shabab.
Fabio Martins has found the back of the net in three consecutive matches for the home side, making the Portuguese one to keep an eye on here.
Having directly contributed to five of Al Fateh's 11 goals, 23-year-old Feras Al Brikan has been a standout performer for his side so far.
Mourad Batna was named man-of-the-match in the most recent meeting between Saturday's opponents and will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Al Khaleej possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Rebocho, Lopez, Al Khabrani, Al Hamsal; Jung, Al Sumairi; Martins, Rodrigues, Hamzi; Sherif
Al Fateh possible starting lineup:
Rinne; Buhumaid, Al Harbi, Saadane, Lajami, Baattia; Batna, Al Hassan, Petros, Zelarayan; Al Brikan
We say: Al Khaleej 1-1 Al Fateh
Neither team has managed to keep a clean sheet this season, and we cannot see that changing after Friday's game. We are backing a share of the spoils with honours even at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
