Saudi Pro League Game: Al Okhdood v Al Khaleej | Date: September 22, 2023 | Time: 20:30 Hrs. | Location: Prince Hathloul Bin Abdulaziz Sport City Stadium, Najran, Saudi Arabia

Al-Okhdood Club نادي الأخدود is going head to head with Al-Khaleej starting on 22 Sept 2023 at 20:30Hrs . The match is a part of the Saudi Professional League.

Currently, Al Akhdood rank 14th, while Al-Khaleej hold 12th position in Saudi Pro League standing.

Al Okhdood V Al Khaleej: Preview

Al Okhdood and Al Khaleej will face off in the Saudi Professional League’s first match of the new season on Friday at the Prince Hathloul Bin Abdul Aziz Sports City Stadium.

The freshly promoted team has suffered three losses in a row in their first three home games of the season, and they will go into the weekend hoping to snap this skid.

Last Thursday, Al Okhdood suffered a 1-0 loss to Al Ittihad in the Prince Hathloul Bin Abdul Aziz Sports City Stadium, which brought them crashing back to earth.

The Najran-based team put on a strong defensive performance to hold out Nuno Espirito Santo’s team for the majority of the game before Karim Benzema scored the game-winning goal with 18 minutes remaining.

Before that, Al Okhdood ended a four-match losing streak by defeating Al Riyadh 1-0 on September 1 at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium to earn their first-ever Professional League victory.

With last week’s outcome, Jorge Mendonca’s team has now dropped all three of their home games this season, surrendering five goals while scoring just one.

Al Okhdood VS Al Khaleej: H2H

Al Okhdood faces Al Khaleej who have triumphed in both of their previous two encounters, winning 3-1 in November 2021 and 1-0 in Najran, respectively. Al Okhdood will be trying to halt this losing streak and restart their top-flight campaign.

Al Khaleej was denied consecutive victories, like the hosts, last Friday when they lost 3-1 to Al-Fateh with 10 men at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium.

Mourad Batna scored twice in the first half of this match, and Sofiane Bendebka scored in the 66th minute to give the visitors a commanding lead. However, Fabio Martins scored from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute to give Ali Mukhtar his marching orders.

This came after a 3-1 victory at Al Shahab on September 2, when Mansour Hamzi, Martins, and Mohamed Sherif all scored to overturn a goal by Habib Diallo in the game’s 20th minute and turn the tide.

Al Khaleej has won three games and drawn three others since April, except a 3-1 setback to Al Fayha in the season opener this August. They are unbeaten in six of their past seven away league games.

Pedro Emanuel’s team is one point and two places ahead of this weekend’s hosts in the Professional League rankings with five points after six games.

Team News

Musleh Al Shaikh, a midfielder for Al Okhdood, is still out injured after leaving the 1-0 loss to Al-Ahli on August 24 due to an injury sustained in the first half.

Saviour Godwin, a recently acquired Nigerian attacker, should reunite with experienced striker Leandre Tawamba in the front two after making his debut against Al Ittihad last Thursday.

Abdulelah, a 22-year-old midfielder for Al Khaleej, won’t be available since he will serve the second of a three-match suspension after receiving a straight red card against Al Shabab on September 2.

Last Friday, Khaled Al-Semeiry was given a starting position in his place, and the former Al Ittihad player should once again form the midfield pivot with 33-year-old Woo-Young Jung.

Fawaz Al-Torais, a 26-year-old striker, will continue to spend a significant amount of time on the sidelines due to a torn cruciate ligament, thus Emanuel won’t be able to use him.

Al Okhdood possible starting lineup:

Vitor; Al Zabdani, Kvirkvelia, Al-Rabiei, Burca; Mansour; Collado, Muwallad, Tanase; Godwin, Tawamba

Al Khaleej possible starting lineup:

Sehic; Al-Haydar, Al-Khabrani, Lopez, Rebocho; Al-Semeiry, Jung; Narey, Rodrigues, Martins; Sherif

Al Okhdood V Al Khaleej: Prediction

Al Okhdood and Al Khaleej will enter the weekend seeking to swiftly regain their footing after losing their most recent match. This season, both teams are yet to find their rhythm, and we see them canceling each other out and agreeing to a point apiece.