Al Ittihadlooking to extend their lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League table will host Al-Nassr in a blockbuster duel between first and third on Friday evening.

The hosts are at the top of the table with 33 points from twelve games, while the guests are in third place with 25 points from the first twelve games.

Game preview

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Al Ittihad have made a remarkable resurgence in the Saudi Pro League, going from multiple bottom-half finishes between 2018 and 2020 to becoming title contenders in three of the last four seasons.

After coming close with third and second-place finishes in 2020-21 and 2021-22, Al Ittihad’s resurgence was finally crowned with an impressive title win in 2022-23, securing 72 points from 30 games and five points ahead Al-Nassr ended up claiming their first Saudi Pro League title since 2008/09.

Although they have their squad with stars such as: Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante And Fabinho Ahead of the 2023/24 season hoping to defend their title, Al Ittihad fell well short of expectations, finishing disappointingly in fifth place with 54 points from 30 games, a staggering 42 points behind champions Al-Hilal who collected 96 points .

This disappointing ending led to the dismissal of Marcelo Gallardowith Laurent Blanc He was signed as his replacement for the new season and the Frenchman had an excellent start at his new club.

Al Ittihad strengthened its squad again in the summer and brought in players like Moussa Diaby, Houssem Aouar, Steven Bergwijn and others, and the moves have certainly paid off with the club sitting top of the table after twelve games.

They have won 13 of their 14 games in all competitions this season and lost once in the league, leaving Blanc’s men two points clear of second-placed Al-Hilal and eight points ahead of Friday’s challengers.

Al Ittihad will therefore go into this game full of confidence, especially after ten consecutive wins in all competitions, although they have lost to Al-Nassr in each of their last two meetings.

The visitors go into this game aiming to reduce the gap to the league leaders and continue their quest for their first Saudi Pro League championship since 2018/19.

Since then, they have been continuously challenging for the title, finishing second in 2019–20, 2022–23 and 2023–24 and third in the 2021–22 season. However, they failed to dethrone the dominant Al-Hilal, who have won three of the last four Saudi Pro League titles.

This will be a big disappointment for Al-Nassr, especially given their recent signings, including the likes Anderson Talisca, Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte, Marcelo Brozovicand the monumental addition of Cristiano Ronaldo.

That frustration has likely carried over into the start of this season, as Al-Nassr are already eight points behind the league leaders after 12 games, having won 25 points from seven wins, four draws and one defeat.

However, the visitors have been in excellent form away from home, remaining unbeaten in the league with four wins and a draw from five games, giving them hope of securing a third successive victory over Al Ittihad.

Al Ittihad Saudi Pro League form:

Al-Nassr Saudi Pro League form:

Al-Nassr form (all competitions):

Team news

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Al Ittihad is facing several injury problems ahead of this game including Abdulaziz Al Bishi, Abdullah Saeed, Ahmed Bamsaud, Ahmed Sharahili, Luiz Felipe and Diaby, while Bergwijn and Aouar are also questionable after being substituted last time out.

Benzema has scored 25 goals in 43 appearances for Al Ittihad, including nine in nine league games this season, and the striker is expected to lead the way here too.

With the hosts boasting the best defense in the league with eight goals conceded in 12 games, they will likely rely on the defensive midfield partnership of Fabinho and Kante once again.

As for the visitors, Laporte and Sami Al-Najei Both are questionable due to injuries Mohamed Simakan missed her last appearance due to injury, so the defender may be out here too.

Ronaldo was rested for the AFC Champions League game against Al-Sadd, which Al-Nassr lost 2-1, but the legendary striker is expected to return to the starting lineup on Friday.

Al Itti had possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Shanqeeti, Pereira, Kadesh, Mitaj; Fabinho, Edge; Hawsawi, Aouar, Bergwijn; Benzema

Possible starting lineup for Al-Nassr:
Bentos; Al-Ghannam, Lajami, Laporte, Boushal; Brozovic, Alkhaibari; Angelo, Otavio, Mane; Ronaldo

We say: Al Ittihad 2:1 Al-Nassr

Al Ittihad may have lost each of their last two meetings with the visitors on Friday, but the hosts go into this game in undeniably better form than their opponents and we expect that to continue with a narrow win here.

To data analyze the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game Please click here.

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