Damac vs. Al Fateh

Saudi pro League Game: Damac vs. Al Fateh | Date: August 29th 2023 | Time 20:30 Hrs. | Location: Dhamak Club Stadium, Khamis Mushait

Damac welcomes Al Fateh to the Dhamak Club Stadium in round four of the Saudi Professional League on Tuesday, looking for their first win of the season.

After failing to win both home and away matches between the teams last season, Abna Al Nakhil will be seeking to win this one.

Damac failed to start their Professional League campaign after being held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Shabab at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium last Friday.

Despite being on the back foot for the majority of the game, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou scored against the run of play to give the visitors a 71st-minute lead until Fahad Al-Muwallad equalized in the 89th.

Before that, Cosmin Contra‘s team lost 1-0 at Al Tai in the league opener on August 12, five days before rallying from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against Al Riyadh in their first home game of the season.

Damac have now lost twice and drawn three of their last five Professional League games after overcoming Abba 1-0 on May 22 thanks to Abdullah Al-Amar’s second-half strike.

While the Knights of the South will be hoping to break their losing streak, their opponents are unbeaten in five of their past six matches, with two victories and three draws since January 2021.

Al Fateh, on the other hand, endured a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of a star-studded Al-Nassr side at the Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium last time out.

Cristiano Ronaldo put on a clinic, setting up Sadio Mane’s first-half goal and scoring a hat-trick to lead Luis Castro’s men to their first win of the 2023-24 Professional League season.

This came after a 3-1 triumph over Al Akhdood on August 18, when Cristian Tello’s brace and Mourad Batna’s 36th-minute strike enabled Al Fateh to come from behind to earn their first win of the season.

Slaven Bilic‘s team are ninth in the Professional League rankings after four points from their first three games, two points, and five places ahead of Tuesday’s visitors.

Team News

Ahmed Harisi, 23, was injured midway through Friday’s match with Al-Shabab, and the Saudi forward is a serious worry for Damac.

In his absence, summer signing N’Koudou, who made an eye-catching cameo last time out, might get his first start since joining from Besiktas.

Al Fateh will be without the services of 31-year-old defender Marwane Saadane, who has been sidelined with a hernia since May.

Aside from that, the Abna Al Nakhil have a clean bill of health and no suspension issues, giving Bilic practically a full-strength team at his disposal.

Despite Friday’s humiliation, we expect the Croatian strategist to choose a similar starting lineup, with Firas Al-Buraikan, who has 15 goals in all competitions this season, driving the attack.

Damac’s possible starting lineup:

Zeghba; Al-Amar, Bedrane, Chafai, Faqihi; N’Koudou, Antolic, Maher, Majrashi; Ceesay, Al-Bishi

Al Fateh’s possible starting lineup:

Rinne; Alzubaidi, Al-Oujami, Denayer, Al Yousif; Bendebka, Petros; Batna, Zelarayan, Tello; Al-Buraikan

Damac vs. Al Fateh: Who can win?

While Damac is yet to win this season, they have shown perseverance in their past two matches, and we expect them to beat the visitors, who are still licking their wounds after last Friday’s humbling setback.

Score Update

Damac vs. Al Fateh: Saudi Pro League 2023-24 Final Score

Damac 2 – 2 Al Fateh

Goals:

DAMAC: Assan Ceesay 23′ (P), 45+3′

Al Fateh: Feras Albrikan 61′, 90+3′