Preview: Al Riyadh vs Al Ettifaq - prediction, team news, lineups

After a month-long pause, the Saudi Pro League returns on Christmas Day as Al-Riyadh welcome Al-Ettifaq to the Prince Turki Abdul Aziz Stadium. 

Both sides were due to feature in matchweek ten last week, but Saudi Pro League fixtures were postponed following Saudi Arabia's progress to the semi-finals of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup. 

Match preview

Following a bottom-half finish last season, ranking 12th, Al-Riyadh would have hoped for signs of improvement this time around, but the early stages of this campaign have proven again to be challenging. 

Daniel Carreno's side sit 14th in the table after nine matches, having picked up just eight points from their two wins, two draws and five defeats. 

Their most recent outing came against reigning champions Al-Ittihad last month, where a 2-1 defeat left them seven points off last place and increased the pressure heading into the winter break. 

A notable area of improvement is their attacking threat; Al-Riyadh have found the back of the net just 10 times in the league so far, something they will want to sort out sooner rather than later. 

The enforced break may have come at an ideal time, allowing Carreno's men to regroup and approach matchweek ten refreshed and focused on turning their season around. 

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Al-Ettifaq, meanwhile, have also endured an inconsistent campaign but arrive four points better off than their hosts. 

Their nine games have seen Saad Al-Shehri's men win three, draw three and lose three, leaving the Knight of Ad-Dahna 10 points off the top three. 

Although it came over a month ago, Al-Ettifaq's last league outing was a 3-2 victory over Al-Fayha, and the subsequent break may have come at the wrong time for Al-Shehri's men, who were enjoying a three-game unbeaten run prior to the stoppage. 

Should they pick up where they left off, Al-Ettifaq could rise as many as three places with a victory and move firmly into the top half of the standings. 

Al Riyadh Saudi Pro League form:

Al Riyadh form (all competitions):

Al Ettifaq Saudi Pro League form:

Team News

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Al-Riyadh have no reported injuries for this one and have a full squad available to them. 

They will likely stick with their preferred 4-4-2 setup, with captain Milan Borjan in goal and Mamadou Sylla leading the line after scoring five goals in nine league appearances. 

As for Al-Ettifaq, they have also come away from their latest game with no added injuries and should have a fully-fit squad available to them. 

Al-Shehri will once again go with his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation, with captain Georginio Wijnaldum anchoring the midfield and looking to provide support for Moussa Dembele in attack. 

Al Riyadh possible starting lineup:

Borjan; Al-Boardi, Alkhaibari, Barbet, Hazazi; Okou, Toze, Gonzalez, Sahlouli, Sylla; Haji

Al Ettifaq possible starting lineup:

Rodak; Khateeb, Hendry, Hindi, Calvo; Mukhtar, Medran; Nkota, Wijnaldum, Dawran; Dembele

We say: Al Riyadh 2-3 Al Ettifaq

Both sides come back after a month of no action, desperate for a win. With the pair seemingly always in high-scoring games, we expect something similar, with the away side just having too much for Al-Riyadh on the day. 

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