Al-Ittihad
- Al-Ittihad have been in mixed form of late, but they should have enough quality to edge this Monday’s clash with relegation-threatened Al Akhdoud at home.
- The hosts are 6th in the Profesional League 2025/2026 standings with 27 points from 16 matches while Al Akhdoud are all the way down in 17th with just 9 points from the same number of matches.
- Sergio Conceicao has tweaked the system to make Al-Ittihad a much more compact and vertical team this season, using transitions to dominate the ball in the opposing third and force turnovers in the midfield.
- Al-Ittihad have won four and lost four of their eight home league matches, averaging 1.12 goals per game both scored and conceded.
Al-Akhdoud
- Al-Akhdoud, on the other hand, are a much more pragmatic side that will look to sit deep, defend in numbers and look to hit their opponents on the counter attack.
- Al-Akhdoud’s away form has been a factor in their poor start to the season as they have failed to win any of their seven away league games and have scored just two goals.
- Marius Sumudica has been in charge of Al-Akhdoud since January 2026 and his main focus has been organising the team to be compact at the back and accelerating counter-attacks.
Head-to-Head
- Al-Ittihad are unbeaten in two against Al Akhdoud, W1 D1.
- The two sides last met four months ago in the Profesional League 2025/2026 and Al-Ittihad cruised to a 5-2 win away from home in the first of their two games to date.
Key Players
- Karim Benzema - eight goals in 13 league games.
- Saeed Al-Rubaie - four goals.
Betting Insights
- The odds of 1.15 for the home team look a bit low, but we feel that backing them to win is a solid bet as Al-Akhdoud will struggle to score.
- An alternative bet could be ‘Under 2.5 goals’ at 3.0, as Al-Akhdoud struggle to score away, and Al-Ittihad's recent outings include a 0-1 home loss to Al-Ettifaq and a 0-0 away draw with Al Qadsiah, while Al Akhdoud recently lost 4-1 at Al Khaleej before a 2-2 home draw with Al Riyadh.
Prediction
This is a clash of a proactive presser against a reactive defender, so it could be close but Al-Ittihad should edge it.
