The fate of Al-Ahli and the discoverer with the slogan “To be or not to be”
Al-Ittihad will face a difficult task when he is the guest of the agreement at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam to keep his chances of winning, especially after he squandered an opportunity that was at hand to take the title. absent from it since 2009, after failing to win. In the last three matches he was content with one point, and in one of them he lost 3-1, in particular against Al-Hilal.
Al-Ittihad, under the guidance of the Romanian coach Cosmin Contra, played three friendly matches without winning any of them, losing to the Pyramids of Egypt and Al-Ahly and drawing with Abha, which clearly indicates a decrease in its level after how it stays the same. top more than 20 stages.
Al Ittihad’s mission clashes with the agrarian’s desire to negotiate a three-point deal to save their fate from relegation, making the match difficult for both teams.
The need for Al Ittifaq to win their match in a battle to avoid relegation as they are in twelfth place with 31 points, one point behind the top relegation places.
The federal team managed to regain their stars ahead of today’s important match as they have been absent lately and the technical staff also reassured Al Bishi, Filibi and his right-back Muhannad Al Shankiti.
crescent possibility
Al-Hilal faces the opportunity to win the title for the third consecutive season when the fierce battle with Al-Ittihad resumes on Thursday in the last meters of the Saudi Football League, with the teams returning to competition for the 29th stage before the last after a stoppage of nearly a month.
Competitions have been suspended for approximately 25 days due to the national team’s camp in Spain in preparation for the World Cup final later this year in Qatar and the title-winning participation of the Olympic team in the Under-23 Asian Cup.
Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad are tied on points (61) at the top of the standings, but Al-Hilal are more likely to win at Al-Ittihad due to two straight matches (Fawzan), so two teams realize that any stumble will ruin their hopes of achieving the title.
And it will be an opportunity for Al-Hilal to be crowned without waiting for the last stage if he defeats his sixth master, Al-Fateh, in exchange for the fall of Al-Ittihad outside his home against Al-Ettifaq, the twelfth. -local player.
Al Hilal, the Asian champion, picked up four wins in a row before the break to regain the lead and inspire hope to extend his record for most league titles to 18.
Al Hilal is in control of his fortunes as his win in the last two league-ending matches at home against Al Faisali will make Argentine coach Ramon Diaz’s side the champion, regardless of the outcome of Al Ittihad’s match. against his guest Al-Batin.
Al-Hilal has rehabilitated some of its stars who were not injured during the last period, such as Peruvian Andre Carrillo, Colombian Gustavo Cuellar, Salman Al-Faraj, Muhammad Al-Buraik and Korean Jang Hyun-soo.
Al Fateh had previously beaten Al Hilal 3-2 at home with a late penalty from Moroccan Murad Bhatna in the first leg to bring them together in the league this season, so he hopes to repeat that and prevent his opponent from taking the final steps on way to victory. title.
Al-Fateh misses the efforts of Batn and Algerian Sofiane Bendabka due to injury.
Fight to avoid relegation
Al-Ahli and his guest Al-Raed play a strong match in the battle for survival, as the former has 31 points in eleventh place, against 30 for the second in fourteenth place in the danger zone.
Al Ahli, the 2016 champion, has found himself in an unfamiliar position this season after battling for the title and positions in the AFC Champions League in recent years before falling into a slump last season finishing in eighth place.
For his part, Al Raed fell sharply in the second leg and in the last 12 games he only managed one win and three draws against eight losses, which led to the ouster of his Spanish coach Pablo Machin before he later sacked Portuguese João Pedro after a recent defeat entrusted this task to national coach Youssef Al-Ghadir.
Al-Batin, penultimate with 29 points, also enters the battle for survival when he receives a fifth damak who does not play for a specific goal, having lost hope of competing for a qualifying position in the Champions League, although he hopes to restore the winning tone he lacked in the last three matches.
Al-Faisali also has to overcome the hurdle of his guest Al-Thaya to improve his chances of staying among the seniors. He is thirteenth with 30 points compared to eighth Tai’s 34.
Al-Faisali’s negative results have helped him fall into the tunnel of complex calculations, and now he is required to win, especially since his last match against Al-Hilal will be very difficult.
Despite moving up in the rankings, Al Taawon are still in a precarious position and face a tough test as they host their fourth youth tournament.
Al Taawun managed to get away from the specter of relegation a little with two wins in the last two matches at the expense of Al Batin and Al Fayhaa and are looking to their third straight win which could be enough to officially stay in the Premier League. He is in tenth place with 32 points.
The eighth Abha and his seventh guest Al-Faihaa will meet in an equal duel. Both teams are equal in points (34).
As for the third win, six points behind Al Ittihad, they lost hopes of challenging for second place and qualifying for the AFC Champions League after losing two direct matches against Al Ittihad. came to last-placed Al-Hazm (17 points), who had previously been relegated to the first division.
