The Al-Ahly and Al-Ittihad confrontation will be held in the Jeddah derby – today, Monday – at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium (the Radiant Jewel) within the 26th stage of the Saudi Professional Football League.
The two teams are seeking to win in order to improve their position in the ranking table, in addition to strengthening their position in the struggle for third place, which qualifies directly for the group stage of the AFC Champions League next season.
Al-Ahly stumbled in the last two matches, leaving its tally of 48 points in third place, only two points ahead of Al-Ittihad, the defending champion, which occupies fourth place after a late awakening.
The results of coach Marcelo Gallardo’s team have improved recently, winning six times in the last seven matches, and their only stumble in these confrontations was against leaders Al Hilal, which is on the verge of regaining the title.
๐| Rushen Professional League
๐| Round 26
๐| โ#Al-Ittihad_Ahlyโ
๐| 10:00 pm
๐| The radiant jewel pic.twitter.com/VBtyK39aNB– Al-Ittihad Saudi Club (@ittihad) April 1, 2024
On the other hand, the performance of coach Matthias Jaesle’s team declined, with Al-Ahly achieving only two victories in the last six matches, in which it suffered two defeats, making its retention of third place in doubt.
Al-Ahly’s defense, which has conceded eight goals in the last six matches, will be a strong test when it faces striker Abdul Razzaq Hamdallah, who was nominated to compete for the Player of the Month award, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nasr’s top scorer, and Karl Toko Ekambi, who recently joined Al-Ettifaq.
Hamdallah (33 years old) has taken responsibility for Al-Ittihadโs attack since the resumption of the league, in February after the end of the Asian Cup, and scored eight goals in six matches, a period during which his colleague Karim Benzema, winner of the Golden Ball, missed most of them due to injury.
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