Preview: Al Okhdood vs. Al Ittihad - prediction, team news, lineups

Reigning champions Al Ittihad will bid to make it five wins from six Saudi Pro League matches when they take on newly-promoted Al Okhdood in Najran on Thursday.

The Jeddah giants suffered a wild 4-3 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Al Hilal before the international break, while Al Okhdood beat Al Riyadh 1-0 last time out.

Match preview

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Following promotion from the second tier last season, Al Okhdood have experienced a tricky start to their debut top-flight campaign, recording one win, one draw and three losses to cement 13th place in the Saudi Pro League table.

After drawing with Al Shabab in their opening match, Al Okhdood suffered three consecutive defeats, firing two blanks in the process, but Jorge Mendonca's side finally picked up their first win of the season last time out, claiming a 1-0 victory over Al Riyadh.

Still, Mendonca will be concerned about his team's lack of goals, as Al Okhdood have managed to net just three goals across their first five league games this term, meaning that only one team possesses a poorer offensive record than the Najran outfit.

That said, only six sides have conceded fewer Saudi Pro League goals than Al Okhdood's six this season, so the top-flight newcomers will be hopeful of avoiding an immediate return to the second tier.

At the opposite end of the standings, Al Ittihad find themselves third - eight points clear of Al Okhdood and one point shy of the top two - having won four of their five matches this season.

Managed by former Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Nuno Espirito Santo, the reigning Pro League champions kicked off their title defence with four successive clean-sheet wins, netting a whopping 12 goals along the way.

However, the Lions found themselves on the wrong end of a seven-goal thriller against Al Hilal in their previous encounter, with ex-Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic bagging a hat-trick to fire his side to a dramatic 4-3 victory over Al Ittihad.

Reigning Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema scored his second Al Ittihad goal last time out, while N'Golo Kante and Fabinho operated in midfield for the Jeddah giants, highlighting the strength of the team.

Team News

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Al Okhdood manager Jorge Mendonca is expected to stick with his favoured 5-4-1 formation on Thursday, with Cameroonian striker Leandre Tawamba leading the line.

Brazilian goalkeeper Paulo Vitor will continue between the sticks for the hosts, while Romanian attacking midfielder Florin Tanase will aim to enhance his tally of one goal and one assist.

As for the visitors, Karim Benzema will spearhead the attack in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with N'Golo Kante and Fabinho anchoring the midfield, allowing Romarinho and Igor Coronado to bomb forward on the flanks.

Having netted five goals in as many league games this term, Abderrazak Hamdallah will likely operate just behind Benzema as he bids to overtake Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo in the scoring charts.

In terms of injury news, Al Ittihad look to be without Ahmed Hegazy, Abdullah Al-Jadani and Aseel Abed for the foreseeable future.

Al Okhdood possible starting lineup:

Vitor; Al Zabdani, Kvirkvelia, Alyami, Bruca, Al Mansour; Collado, Al Muwallad, Tanase, Al Harthi; Tawamba

Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:

Grohe; Alolayan, Hawsawi, Sharahili, Bamsaud; Kante, Fabinho; Romarinho, Hamdallah, Coronado; Benzema

We say: Al Okhdood 0-3 Al Ittihad

While Al Okhdood have scored just three goals in five games this season, Al Ittihad have already netted 15 goals in the league, so we expect the defending champions to make light work of the top-flight newcomers on Thursday.

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