The King Abdullah Sports City stadium will be the venue for the opening match of the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League season for Al Ahli Saudi and Al Orobah as the two sides go one-on-one on Friday at 18:00 GMT.
Al Ahli, who finished third, 17 points behind second-placed Al Nassr and 31 points behind Champions Al Hilal, will look to make a winning start against Al Orobah on Friday.
Key Highlights
Al Ahli
Al Ahli opened their competitive season last Tuesday when they took on the Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final. Al Ahli held the champions to a 1-1 draw before losing 4-1 on penalties.
After the first half ended in a 0-0 draw, the second half exploded into life in the 66th minute when Al Ahli took the lead through a Roberto Firmino strike. However, they could not hold on for the win and some early silverware. Instead, Al Hilal equalized through Aleksandar Mitrovic in the 90th minute to send the match to penalties.
Al Ahli demonstrated solidity against last season’s devastating attack; they conceded once and kept them at bay for most of the match, which will bode well ahead of their home clash against Al Orobah on Friday.
Al Orobah
Al Orobah finished second in the Saudi First Division League, thus earning promotion to the Saudi Pro League.
They collected 64 points out of 34 outings in the division, nine points behind winners Al-Qadsiah and two points ahead of third-placed Al Kholood.
In their final five matches, Al Orobah showed some good form, winning three times, drawing once, and losing once. This run of form shows that they have some firepower and consistency in their performances.
However, ahead of the kickoff away to Al Ahli, Al Orobah have to step up their form and performance levels if they are to take something from the match and make a good start to a season expected to be characterized by a fight to stay in the league.
Injury Report
Neither side has reported significant injury issues ahead of the big Saudi Pro League kick-off on Friday.
Team News
Al Ahli will have their attackers Roberto Firmino, who scored in the clash against Al Hilal, and Riyad Mahrez spearheading their attack as they look to open their season with a commanding performance and three points.
Al Orobah will take a compact approach. They will focus on their shape out of possession and seal all gaps and spaces behind them to limit the room the Al Ahli attackers will have to exploit.
Prediction
Matthias Jaissle’s Al Ahli charges are the football pick for this match; they are the outstanding odds-on favorites to win the match given their pedigree and the quality in their ranks.
However, Al Orobah showed a lot of fight and grit in their fight for promotion last season; they will look to make it difficult to play against them on Friday.
Al Ahli will have too much for the newly promoted minnows; they will win and open the season with three points
Match Predictions for This Day
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