Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad have had a tough start to the league season. Newly appointed coach Sérgio Conceição had a great start, with a win over Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the King's Cup but last weekend, his side needed two late, late goals (in the 96th and 98th minute) to draw Al Khaleej 4-4.
A 3-0 win over Sharjah in the ACL Elite would give them a boost, but in their way now is one of Saudi Arabia's oldest and fiercest rivalries. They face an unbeaten Al Ahli in the Jeddah derby on Saturday and with the league table showing them in 8th, two points behind 5th placed Al Ahli, this could be the game that makes or breaks their season. With Riyad Mahrez, Fanck Kessie and Edouard Mendy providing stability and Ivan Toney the goals, Al Ahli will make for very tough opponents.
Here's everything you need to know about Saturday's crucial match:
How to watch:
The match will be available on ESPN Africa across Sub-Saharan Africa and FanCode in India. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Note: How to tune in to ESPN -- ESPN: DStv 218, StarTimes 248 and ESPN2: DStv 219, StarTimes 249
Key Details:
Date: Saturday, Nov 8 at 7 p.m. CAT (8 p.m. Saudi; 11 p.m. IST)
Venue: Alinma Bank Stadium at King Abdullah Sport City, Jeddah
Expected Lineups:
Al Ittihad
GK: Predrag Rajkovic
RB: Ahmed Al Julaydan | CB: Saad Al Mosa | CB: Danilo Pereira | LB: Mario Mitaj
CM: N'Golo Kanté | CM: Houssem Aouar| CM: Fabinho
RW: Moussa Diaby | CF: Karim Benzema | LW: Roger Fernandes
Al Ahli
GK: Edouard Mendy
RB: Ali Majrashi | CB: Merih Demiral | CB: Ibanez | LB: Mohammed Sulaiman
CM: Enzo Millot | CM: Franck Kessie
RW: Riyad Mahrez | CAM: Feras Al Brikan | LM: Matheus Goncalves
CF: Ivan Toney
Stats:
Ivan Toney, with five goals, is sixth in the SPL golden boot race - currently led by Joao Felix and Joshua King (9 each).
Al Ahli have only scored nine goals in seven games, compared to Al Ittihad's 15. However, they have also only conceded 5 goals, vs Ittihad's 13.
No team has made more passes this season than Al Ittihad (3682). Al Ahli, meanwhile, have made 2960 (6th most).
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