The Saudi Pro League goes into round No 3 on Thursday. Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli are setting the pace in the Pro League.
The teams won their opening two games to take max points. Can the two teams continue to pick up points or will they drop points this week?
Al-Ahli and Al-Akhdood with very little history between them. Al-Ahli are star-studded with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Roger Ibanez, and Riyad Mahrez in the team.
Al Akhdood are not strongly financially backed like their opponents this weekend. They will hope to make do against Al-Ahli's strong squad. Al Akhdood took just one point from the opening six available. They are coming off a 3-1 loss to Al Fateh.
Al-Ahli scored 3.0 goals in each of their two matches this season. Firmino opened his Al-Ahli scoring account in the team’s first match of the season with three goals against Al-Hazm.
Al-Ettifaq posted three wins and one defeat in their last four matches against Al-Khaleej. Three of their four encounters saw over 2.5 goals scored.
Al-Khaleej are 17th out of the 18 teams in the Pro League. The team lost their two opening matches, scoring just two goals and conceding six.
Al-Raed failed to win any of their last six games versus Al-Hilal. Al-Hilal won five of those six games and drew one. Will Neymar make his Al-Hilal debut? It won’t be this weekend, as Neymar isn’t expected to return to action until September 15.
Al-Hilal are third in the league with four points out of six. Forward Malcolm leads the team with three goals. He scored all three in the team’s opening-day win over Abha.
Al-Raed are bottom of the 18-team league standings. The team failed to score a goal in each of their opening four games. Al-Raed conceded four times in those games.
Al-Ittihad spent heavily in the transfer market, signing Karim Benzema and Fabinho. The spending has paid off so far, with Al-Ittihad in first place. On Thursday, the league leaders will face seventh-place Al Riyadh.
Al Riyadh go into the game after taking four points out of six on offer. The team is coming off a 2-2 draw with Damac FC.
Al-Ittihad have not conceded a goal in 180 minutes of football. The yellow and black scored five times in their two fixtures. Despite scoring five goals in two games, Benzema has not found the back of the net for Al-Ittihad yet.