Al Okhdood will welcome Al Qadsiah to the Prince Hathloul Bin Abdul Aziz Sport City Stadium on Thursday at 16:40 GMT+1 for a one-on-one Saudi Pro League clash, with the two sides fighting for the three points.
Key Highlights
Al Okhdood
Al Okhdood have had a difficult start to their Saudi Pro Legaue campaign, suffering three straight defeats, conceding seven times and scoring just once in the process.
Their inability to score was underlined in the defeats against Al Hilal and Al Ettifaq in their opening two matches. This challenge was exacerbated by their inability to keep a clean sheet, underscored by the seven goals they have concedded so far.
The statistics from their 3-1 reverse against Damac last Friday underline these challenges. Al Okhdood had 20 attempted shots, with just four of them on goal. These numbers indicate that they are not creating high-quality situations in the final third to enhance their chances of scoring.
Despite having 60% of the ball, they conceded five shots on target, with Damac converting three of them to win 3-1. Our football predictions show that Al Okhdood will look to enhance their balance between defense and attack as they take on a reeling Al Qadsiah side on Thursday.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will get another chance to impress in attack for Al Qadsiah as they take on winless Al Okhdood on Thursday in the Saudi Pro League
Al Qadsiah
Al Qadsiah have had a mixed to their Saudi Pro League campaign, winning twice and losing once. The focus for the side is gaining some consistency in their maiden season back to the top flight.
After two back-to-back wins, they stumbled last time out and lost 1-0 to Al Shabab. In their first top-flight match, Al Qadsiah demonstrated their dominance with a comfortable 3-0 home triumph against Al Fateh.
The win was peculiar, given they did not dominate possession in an evenly contested clash, with Al Fateh sharing possession with 51% of the ball to Al Qadsiah’s 49%.
However, Al Qadsiah’s attacking has not hit its prolific best; they managed 14 shots with five of them on target. However, defensively, they continued to demonstrate a robust back line, conceding 4 shots, three on target.
Al Qadsiah will look to get back to winning ways and fight to keep up with the early season top-of-the-table contenders when they take on Al Okhdood on Thursday.
Injury Report
Neither side have reported fresh injury worries ahead of their head-to-head on Thursday.
Team News
Al Okhdood will stick with the attack of Kone and Al Hatila through the middle and Godwin and Bassogog in wide areas. Their combinations and link-up will be essential in their bid to create chances.
Al Qadsiah are expected to shuffle their attack with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang coming into the side as they look to drive home their advantage. Their attack in the match against Al Fateh comprised goalscorers Al Othamn (1 goal) and Quinones (brace); these are likely to line up alongside Aubameyang.
Prediction
Al Qadsiah have the pedigree and quality to come out on top with three points in this clash on Thursday.
