Al Kholood and Al Ittihad will go one-on-one in the Saudi Pro League at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on Saturday, with kickoff slated for 16:10 GMT.
Key Highlights
Al Kholood
Al Kholood are the third side promoted into the Saudi Pro League from the Saudi First Division League. They finished third in Division 1 behind Al Qadsiah and Al Orobah, with 62 points, two points behind Al Orobah and 11 points behind Al Qadsiah.
Their season was characterized by a fine balance between defense and attack; they scored 55 goals and conceded 30 times, finishing with the third-best goal difference.
Their record in Division 1 is an indicator of the approach they will take in the Saudi Pro League, starting with their clash against the Saudi Pro League giant Al Ittihad.
Al Ittihad
Al Ittihad have had a full run of friendlies to prepare for the start of the new Saudi Pro League season; they have had four friendly matches with European teams, winning once and losing three times.
In their opening friendly match, they lost 2-0 against La Liga side Elche before being beaten by another La Liga side, Sevilla (1-0). The third friendly match also ended in a 4-1 defeat against Real Betis. In their final friendly match, Moussa Diaby’s brace handed Al Ittihad a famous win over the Serie A champions, handing them a boost ahead of their kickoff in the Saudi Pro League.
Laurent Blanc will look to get his side the best start to the season with a win when they face Al Kholood on Saturday. The former France coach will rely on some of his big names to get their campaign underway in style as they look to go toe-to-toe with Al Hilal in the chase for the title this season.
Injury Report
Neither side has reported injury worries or fitness absentees to their squads ahead of their Saturday one-on-one clash.
Team News
Playing at home, Al Kholood will look to contain the danger posed by the marquee talents in the Al Ittihad squad. Containing the likes of Benzema, Aouar, Al Gmaid, and Diaby, will require discipline and aggressive defending. They will defend deep and narrow to minimize the spaces available to Al Ittihad’s attackers.
Laurent Blanc is likely to pick his strongest side to face Al Kholood, with the likes of Benzema, Kante, Ahouar, Diaby, and Fabinho likely to start. Al Ittihad will line up in their tried-and-tested 4-2-3-1 formation, with Benzema leading the line. They will look to dominate the ball, set the tempo of the match, and use their intricate and fast passing to penetrate behind the Al Kholood defense and create chances.
Prediction
Al Kholood are the underdogs in this match. The newly promoted side will be up against one of the household names in the Saudi Pro League in Al Ittihad.
Al Ittihad are the favorites with the pedigree and the talent in their squad to cause problems for any side in the Saudi league.
Al Ittihad will win the match and get off to a winning start in the Saudi Pro League.
