Al-Ittihad seeks redemption points… and a fiery clash between Al-Ahli and Al-Qadisiyah

The Saudi Professional League is set to resume after a third break this season that lasted nearly two weeks due to FIFA international days, as the Saudi national team held a training camp in Jeddah during which it played two friendly matches against Ivory Coast, winning by one goal, and against Algeria, losing by two goals to nil.

Al-Ittihad, after losing the derby to Al-Ahli in the round before the break, will face Al-Riyadh at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Friday evening, while the competition intensifies between Al-Ahli and its guest Al-Qadisiyah, and in Al-Rass, the derby between Al-Kholoud and its counterpart Al-Hazm will be held at Al-Hazm Club Stadium.

Al-Ahli and their guest Al-Qadisiyah will compete at Al-Inma Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City, for sole possession of fourth place, which Al-Qadisiyah currently occupies, one point ahead of the fifth-placed team that has 16 points.

This encounter will be repeated a week from now in the quarter-finals of the King’s Cup, but in the league, Al-Ahli seems refreshed by its recent victory against Al-Ittihad in the Jeddah derby and is looking to continue its winning streak and brilliance when it hosts Al-Qadisiyah.

Al Ahly’s latest training session took place amidst high morale among the players (club website)

Al-Ahli recorded a resounding victory over Al-Qadisiyah at the start of the season in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final with a 5-0 win, but the technical situation seemed to be in better shape for Al-Qadisiyah, which is led by Spaniard Michel Gonzalez.

Al-Ahli, led by German coach Matthias Jiesle, boasts a number of distinguished players in its ranks, and at the same time is aware that any setback means a significant departure from the competition for the league title, which would mean the team’s absence from the competition for the third consecutive season.

Al-Qadisiyah enters the match after a resounding victory against Al-Kholoud in the round preceding the break, and looks forward to moving forward and collecting three valuable points that will strengthen its presence among the leading teams before the long break.

The Saudi Professional League enters its fourth break after the end of this round of matches, but this time the break will extend until December 20 due to the Arab Cup tournament hosted by the Qatari capital, Doha.

In Jeddah, Al-Ittihad will host Al-Riyadh at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, as they seek to make up for their recent derby loss and return to winning ways in order to stop the points gap between them and the league leaders from widening significantly.

Al-Ittihad currently has 11 points and is in eighth place, 13 points behind Al-Nasr, but it is aware that there is room to reduce the gap and get closer to the leading teams.

Al-Ittihad lost their first match under the leadership of Portuguese coach Conceição, who took over the technical leadership from coach Laurent Blanc, and are looking to make up for it against Al-Riyadh, but they will be facing a team that took advantage of the recent break by changing the technical staff with the departure of Spaniard Calleja and the arrival of Uruguayan Daniel Carreño, who has extensive experience in Saudi football stadiums.

Al-Ittihad hopes to win against Al-Riyadh to provide a morale boost for victory in the next round of the AFC Champions League, after which they will have a tough match before the break against Al-Shabab in the quarter-finals of the King’s Cup.

As for Al-Riyadh, which is in twelfth place and has only 8 points, it seeks to deliver a morale shock after Carreno took over the technical leadership. The Uruguayan coach announced that the task against Al-Ittihad is difficult, but he will go for the win and return with the three points.

The competition is fierce between Al-Kholoud and its counterpart Al-Hazm in the Al-Rass derby. The differences between them are only three points in favor of Al-Kholoud, which is in tenth place with 9 points, compared to 6 points for Al-Hazm, which occupies fourteenth place.

This derby has gained media attention this time because it brings them together in the Premier League or the Saudi Professional League, and each of them is looking to record a historic victory.

Al-Kholoud is experiencing better technical moments despite losing 4-0 to Al-Qadisiyah before the break, but its results before that were very ideal. As for Al-Hazm, it also lost 4-0 to Al-Khaleej before the break, and before that it drew 2-2 against Al-Ettifaq, and it seeks to return to the path of victories and seize valuable points.