Al-Faisaly vs Al-Ittihad: Visitors look to extend strong run in Saudi Pro League

Context

On Friday, September 11, at 20:45 local time, Al-Faisaly hosted Al-Ittihad in round seven of the Saudi Pro League. According to LiveScore, the match was played at Al-Majma'ah Sports City Stadium.

Team form

Al-Ittihad arrived in excellent form, remaining unbeaten after six rounds with 14 points from four wins and two draws. Sources differ on their exact league position: OneFootball places them 3rd, while LiveScore lists them 4th, a single point behind the top three of Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah. In their last two outings, Al-Ittihad beat both Al-Fayha and Al-Nassr by identical 2-1 scorelines.

Al-Faisaly, by contrast, are enduring a difficult start to the season. The club has yet to record a win since promotion and sits 17th with three points from three draws and three defeats.

Head-to-head record

Per OneFootball, Al-Faisaly hold a slight edge in the last ten official meetings between the clubs, with four wins to Al-Ittihad's three and three draws. However, Al-Ittihad have won the last three direct encounters, giving the visitors a psychological advantage heading into this fixture.

Coach's comments

Al-Ittihad's German head coach — whose name appears with varying spellings across sources (Jens Wissing, Jens Wiesing or Yenz Vissching) — said after the win over Al-Fayha that the match had been difficult so soon after a tough encounter with Al-Nassr, but that securing all three points was the priority. He also praised new signing Georginio Wijnaldum, who joined on a free transfer after leaving Al-Ettifaq, calling him a smart, hungry player and a leader.

Line-ups

For the match against Al-Faisaly, the coach recalled Moroccan striker Youssef En-Nesyri to the starting eleven alongside Nigerian forward George Ilenikhena, while leaving Wijnaldum on the bench, as reported by LiveScore.

Match statistics

According to figures compiled by the BBC, Al-Ittihad dominated possession (61.9% to 38.1%), had more shots (8 to 5, including 3 to 0 on target) and more corners (3 to 0), and recorded higher pass accuracy (87% versus 81.7%). None of the available sources state the final score of the match.