Having seen their perfect start to the season come to an end last time out, Al-Ahli will be aiming to get themselves back on track when they welcome Al-Taawoun to the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium on Saturday.

On the other hand, the away side make the journey to Jeddah this weekend seeking to pick up what would be a fifth consecutive Saudi Pro League victory.

Match preview

Al-Ahli fell to a humiliating 5-1 defeat against Al Fateh when the teams locked horns at the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium on September 2.

Matthias Jaissle's men took the lead with a stroke of luck through Abbas Al Hassan's own goal, but what followed was a catastrophic turn of events as goals from Feras Al Brikan, Lucas Zelarayan, Sofiane Bendebka and a Mourad Batna double completed a remarkable turnaround.

As a result, Al-Raqi have dropped down to fourth place in the Saudi Pro League table, three points shy of current leaders Al Ittihad, albeit with a game in hand.

Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are without defeat in the most recent five editions of this fixture across all competitions since 2020.

Ahead of a mouth-watering encounter against Al Nassr to come, Saturday's hosts will be keen to set the tone with a dominant display in front of their fans this weekend.

Al-Taawoun put on an attacking masterclass as they cruised to a routine 4-1 triumph over Al Wehda at the Al Taawon Arena two Saturdays ago.

Goals from Flavio, Sattam Al Roqi, Waleed Al Ahmad and Andrei Girotto put Pericles Chamusca's men in pole position after which Faycal Fajr pulled one back.

With 13 points amassed from their five matches so far, the Wolves sit third in the standings, one point and one place ahead of this weekend's opponents.

Currently on a run of four wins and a draw from their last five competitive away matches, Saturday's visitors have proven themselves to be a real handful on the road of late.

Team News

Merih Demiral was sent off in the final stages of Al-Ahli's defeat against Al Fateh, and he is ineligible to play any part in this weekend's game.

This should see defender Abdulbasit Hindi return to the lineup for what would be his third start of the campaign and a first in four games.

Mateus Castro has directly contributed to five of Al Taawoun's nine goals so far, making the Brazilian one to keep a close watch on here.

Joao Pedro and Musa Barrow are both in line to make their debuts for the away side having recently joined from Al Wahda and Bologna respectively.

Al-Ahli possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Al Zubaidi, Ibanez, Hindi, Al Hurayji; Kessie, Al Majhad; Saint-Maximin, Veiga, Mahrez; Firmino

Al-Taawoun possible starting lineup:
Mailson; Al Oyayari, Girotto, Al Ahmad, Faqeehi; Flavio, El Mahdioui, Medran; Mateus, Al Roqi, Bahusayn

We say: Al-Ahli 2-1 Al-Taawoun

Given the nature of attacking firepower on display here, we fully expect both teams to find the back of the net. That said, we are also backing the home side to emerge victorious come the sound of the final whistle.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email