The final match on Thursday night in the Saudi Pro League will see Al Ittihad arrive at the Al-Jouf University Stadium in Sakakah to take on new boys Al Orubah.
Over the first quarter of the league season, the hosts have managed to get up to 12th place in the league standings with 10 points, while the visitors are second with 24 points.
Match preview
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After Al-Hilal dropped points for the first time this season last week to Al-Nassr, Al Ittihad now have a golden opportunity to pile the pressure on the defending champions.
The Blue Waves are only scheduled to face Al Khaleej on Friday night, and with only a single point separating the top two in the league standings, a victory here will take the Tigers into the lead overnight.
Laurent Blanc's side will come into this crucial fixture in excellent form too, with their 1-0 win over Al Ahli last week extending their current win streak to seven matches across all competitions.
Additionally, the People's Club have not conceded a single goal in their last three matches, and their ongoing five-game winning run in league matches is the longest active streak in the top flight.
On the road this term, Al Ittihad have played four league games and won three, with the only blemish on their record being a 3-1 defeat against Jorge Jesus's side back in the middle of September.
Meanwhile, after pulling off a dramatic late victory over Al Ettifaq in gameweek seven, Al Orubah are being sucked back into the relegation scrap and are now looking to avoid a third consecutive league defeat.
Last time out, ORO suffered a second-half collapse, conceding three goals in less than 20 minutes in a 4-0 loss to Al Okhdood, which followed a 3-0 hiding at home to Al Shabab a week earlier.
With those results, Alvaro Pacheco's side have now conceded 19 goals this season - the second-most of any team in the division - and their nine goals scored is the third-worst tally in the top flight.
Al Orubah have a positive record on home soil so far this season with two wins and a loss in their first three games, but they have failed to beat this opponent in their last three encounters (W0 D1 L2).
Team News
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Cristian Tello, who has scored four goals and provided an assist in seven matches this season, was a huge miss for Al Orubah last week, and it is unclear if the former Barcelona man will be available for this one.
Ibrahim Al-Zubaidi played just 30 minutes in the defeat to Al Okhdood before being forced off with a knock and he will likely be replaced in the starting 11 this week by Abdulmalek Al-Shammeri.
Al Ittihad will be sweating over the fitness of Karim Benzema, who missed their King's Cup victory and last week's win over Al Ahli due to a muscular problem - he is listed as a doubt for this match.
In terms of confirmed absentees, Ahmed Sharahili and Ahmed Bamasud are out for the foreseeable future due to serious knee injuries and Luiz Felipe is currently sidelined with a thigh strain.
Al Orubah possible starting lineup:
Coucke; Al-Qumairi, Kandouss, Al-Shuwaish, Muhar; Gudmundsson, Al Zabdani, Al Rashidi; Boateng
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Al-Shanqeeti, Al-Amri, Al-Mousa, Mitaj; Kante, Fabinho; Diaby, Aouar, Bergwijn; Al-Shehri
We say: Al Orubah 0-2 Al Ittihad
Al Orubah are coming into this match off the back of two heavy defeats and potentially without their talisman Cristian Tello, who has contributed to more than half of their goals this season.
Al Ittihad are also likely to be without their main man at the top of the pitch, but they have managed to deliver results without him in their last two games, and we fancy they will do so again in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
