Saudi Professional League 2023/2024

[Sithara007]

Of course Al-Ittihad still has solid players and the absence of Karim Benzema will not affect Al-Ittihad's performance even though the presence of Karim Benzema makes Al-Ittihad's attack line even stronger.
Al-Ahli is not a very strong opponent for Al-Ittihad as proven by their last 5 matches. Al-Ittihad was able to beat 3 matches while Al-Ahli only won 1 match and draw 1 x. Of course this match will end the same, namely won by Al-Ittihad although with a narrow score.
To chase points and replace Al-hilal in first place, of course Al-Ittihad will try as hard as they can for this match.

Al Ittihad's manager (Nuno Espírito Santo) had some issues with Karim Benzema, since he wanted to give more priority to Abderrazak Hamdallah. So he will be more or less happy with the absence of Benzema. Their next match is against one of the toughest opponents (Al Ahli) in the Saudi Professional League. Their last match didn't ended well for them, as they conceded a goal-less draw against Al Feiha. If they had got 3 points from that match, then they would have retained their position as the top team in points table.

[rendravolt]

But is also shows that the Saudi Professional League is so much easier to play for these superstars because I doubt that Mane and Ronaldo would have the same goal count and assist count in the Premier League or another European top league. Of course it is their job to score in their position, but the frequency would incredible in any European league. I don't think it is as impressive in this league though. But still it is a performance that should be respected.

For players who are full of experience in the top European leagues, of course playing in the Saudi league is not a problem, especially at an old age like now, they can still have the opportunity to become top scorers. Both Ronaldo and Mane are experienced strikers and previously they also played as wingers at a fairly young age. So it's not surprising that all European players at a relatively old age will still be crazy when it comes to scoring goals. Not too impressive because we have often seen both of them during their prime, so scary for any team's defense that what they are doing now is like repeating the previous time but with less intensity.

[Juggy777]

But is also shows that the Saudi Professional League is so much easier to play for these superstars because I doubt that Mane and Ronaldo would have the same goal count and assist count in the Premier League or another European top league. Of course it is their job to score in their position, but the frequency would incredible in any European league. I don't think it is as impressive in this league though. But still it is a performance that should be respected.

For players who are full of experience in the top European leagues, of course playing in the Saudi league is not a problem, especially at an old age like now, they can still have the opportunity to become top scorers. Both Ronaldo and Mane are experienced strikers and previously they also played as wingers at a fairly young age. So it's not surprising that all European players at a relatively old age will still be crazy when it comes to scoring goals. Not too impressive because we have often seen both of them during their prime, so scary for any team's defense that what they are doing now is like repeating the previous time but with less intensity.

@rendravolt I disagree here because Ronaldo continued scoring goals in his second appearance for Manchester United and just because he’s making it look easy doesn’t mean that it’s actually easy because if you followed Ronaldo then you would have known that he’ll not just maintain his fitness but he’ll ensure that all eat fit and workout harder and that’s how he lifts the team. Furthermore he did struggle initially but he worked hard to understand all about this league and now his hard work is paying rich dividends for his team.

[Strongkored]

Al Ittihad's manager (Nuno Espírito Santo) had some issues with Karim Benzema, since he wanted to give more priority to Abderrazak Hamdallah. So he will be more or less happy with the absence of Benzema. Their next match is against one of the toughest opponents (Al Ahli) in the Saudi Professional League. Their last match didn't ended well for them, as they conceded a goal-less draw against Al Feiha. If they had got 3 points from that match, then they would have retained their position as the top team in points table.

Ittihad FC's manager is reportedly disappointed with the club's decision to prefer to bring in older players, whereas he thinks that younger players should be made to make the team stronger. The reason is quite reasonable because he definitely hopes that the players they buy will not only be fit but also last longer being in the team because old players like Benzema will probably only play at this club for 1-2 seasons after then retiring, even if not, his performance will definitely decline.
Facing Al Ahli will be quite a tough job but my prediction is that it will still be a victory for Ittihad. Both H2H are quite balanced, no team is more dominant, but in several seasons Ittihad has won more against Al Ahli.

[makishart]

Who knows, maybe destiny had different plans?
Ronaldo, the savior for Al Nassr. Al Nassr, once the underdogs, now stand tall in the Arab league and aim to win the Saudi Pro League trophy. However, Al Hilal has won the domestic league title a remarkable 18 times. The club has recently signed Neymar. So, what I mean is, the stage is set for an epic battle between Al Nassr, Al-Ettihad, and the towering 18-time Saudi Pro League winners, Al-Hilal.

Al-Hilal didn't lose any match yet and they are trying their best to keep the first spot for them. Their 2 draws made the others close to them. Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr are heavy contenders for the title also but I am impressed with Al-Taawoun and Al-Ettifaq resistance so far among the top teams.

Ittihad and nassr were always become the main rivals for al hilal. I can hope that if al hilal will keep the current position till the end of season. The club needs also to make sure its opponent will not be lucky enough to win the game and al hilal can take such opportunity to climbing up.



There will some matches to come soon. Al ittihad will be facing al ahli which is becoming the most attractive match for this week. Al naasr and al hilal will be facing some weak teams.
It's unlikely al ittihad will be able to win the game against al ahli easily.

My pick for this week obviously

Al nassr
Al Ittihad
Al hilal.

[tiCeR]

Al Ittihad's manager (Nuno Espírito Santo) had some issues with Karim Benzema, since he wanted to give more priority to Abderrazak Hamdallah. So he will be more or less happy with the absence of Benzema. Their next match is against one of the toughest opponents (Al Ahli) in the Saudi Professional League. Their last match didn't ended well for them, as they conceded a goal-less draw against Al Feiha. If they had got 3 points from that match, then they would have retained their position as the top team in points table.

Ittihad FC's manager is reportedly disappointed with the club's decision to prefer to bring in older players, whereas he thinks that younger players should be made to make the team stronger. The reason is quite reasonable because he definitely hopes that the players they buy will not only be fit but also last longer being in the team because old players like Benzema will probably only play at this club for 1-2 seasons after then retiring, even if not, his performance will definitely decline.
Facing Al Ahli will be quite a tough job but my prediction is that it will still be a victory for Ittihad. Both H2H are quite balanced, no team is more dominant, but in several seasons Ittihad has won more against Al Ahli.

I like that criticism by the manager because it is simple to see that he got a point there. The goal should be to raise talents and add older players to also get some experience integrated into the team, but when all the limelight is on two old players and the young players receive little to no attention, it also seems to not be the right approach.

I think it is good to see a manager raise this concern, but I doubt that this will change anything about the approach of the Saudi Pro clubs. They will still be after those older star players for a while and probably switch over to younger talent as well as soon as they have enough superstars to attract the international audience to watch and follow the league.

[Sithara007]

Odds look quite strange for the Al Ahli vs Al Ittihad match. I would have expected much closer odds than what they have right now (heavily biased in favor of Al Ittihad). And this is strange, given that Karim Benzema is out injured and he is unlikely to take part in this match. He has missed out on previous three matches, and this will be the 4th match in a row that he is not playing. Also, from what I heard the Al Ittihad fans are also frustrated with Benzema. So far he has scored just 3 goals and 2 assists in the Saudi Professional League.

[len01]

But is also shows that the Saudi Professional League is so much easier to play for these superstars because I doubt that Mane and Ronaldo would have the same goal count and assist count in the Premier League or another European top league. Of course it is their job to score in their position, but the frequency would incredible in any European league. I don't think it is as impressive in this league though. But still it is a performance that should be respected.

For players who are full of experience in the top European leagues, of course playing in the Saudi league is not a problem, especially at an old age like now, they can still have the opportunity to become top scorers. Both Ronaldo and Mane are experienced strikers and previously they also played as wingers at a fairly young age. So it's not surprising that all European players at a relatively old age will still be crazy when it comes to scoring goals. Not too impressive because we have often seen both of them during their prime, so scary for any team's defense that what they are doing now is like repeating the previous time but with less intensity.

european star players who are quite old certainly not be a problem, the most important thing is that their performance is still a bit the same as when they were young and for Ronaldo, who thinks he has almost the same performance when he was young, its just that his ball control skills are definitely slightly reduced due to age it will definitely have a little influence and in fact Ronaldo is still known as scoring machine as you said, even like Benzema and Neymar who are also in one of the SPL teams at the moment are not able to perform optimally because they need time to adapt and well I hope that European players who have the age a bit old will still shine in this SPL.

[Vaskiy]

Odds look quite strange for the Al Ahli vs Al Ittihad match. I would have expected much closer odds than what they have right now (heavily biased in favor of Al Ittihad). And this is strange, given that Karim Benzema is out injured and he is unlikely to take part in this match. He has missed out on previous three matches, and this will be the 4th match in a row that he is not playing. Also, from what I heard the Al Ittihad fans are also frustrated with Benzema. So far he has scored just 3 goals and 2 assists in the Saudi Professional League.

There is big difference in the odds. Al-Ittihad to win the match @1.97 and Al-Ahli Saudi @3.30 which is huge difference. Both the teams have got a very narrow difference in the points table, Al-Ittihad placed at the second position with 18 points and Al-Ahli Saudi is at 6^th position with 16 points. Injury seems to be a big problem with Benzema, during his previous season with Real Madrid he had missed 16 matches out of injury. Even in the World Cup he was out due to injury.

[Hirose UK]

Al Nassr is performing better and always shows very good progress so that it is able to catch up and only has few points difference with first place occupied by Al Hilal and second or third place occupied by Al-Ittihad and Al-Taawon.
From what Al Nassr has achieved they have a big chance of becoming champions this season and can make the squad the strongest for the Saudi Pro League.

Actually if you say it easy it not quite right because Ronaldo and his friends try very hard and always maximize their performance to be able to win every match and catch up with the team at the top of the standings.

As time went by some Al Nassr players were really showed the world that for this season big changes had occurred, changes that made Al Nassr difficult team to beat.
I believe Al Nassr can take advantage of the opportunity and can become the team that occupies first and place to win the trophy this season.

All clubs in the SPL will have the same ambition, namely to win a trophy at the end of the season, the top five standings are very competitive at the moment. Week 9 will happen soon, the standings are likely to change again significantly, I think. The match between Al Ittihad and Al Ahli will be an interesting one to look forward to, Al Nassr will have a slightly easier opponent, Abha Club.

If Al Ahli draws with Al Ittihad, then Al Nassr will move up one level but with the condition that they must succeed in getting points by beating Abha Club. For Al Hilal, who currently leads the standings, I think they will remain at the top because the chance of winning over Al Akhdoud is quite big.

But what looks very competitive are the teams with the top 5 rankings because they are the strongest teams and dominate the league, even this season these 5 teams will always beat each other and as much as possible stay at the top fighting for first place.
In the future it seems like shifts will always occur and they will only go up and down alternately depending on how the match results for each team.

The match between Al Ittihad and Al Ahli will be quite an interesting match because both of them are one point apart and are in first and second place.
It will be difficult to determine who will win this match because each team has their mainstay players who are equally great and can always be the savior in achieving victory.

From the end of this match, one of them will go down because Al Taawon and Al Nassr will definitely rise to first and second place.

[QueenVera]

But what looks very competitive are the teams with the top 5 rankings because they are the strongest teams and dominate the league, even this season these 5 teams will always beat each other and as much as possible stay at the top fighting for first place.
In the future it seems like shifts will always occur and they will only go up and down alternately depending on how the match results for each team.

The match between Al Ittihad and Al Ahli will be quite an interesting match because both of them are one point apart and are in first and second place.
It will be difficult to determine who will win this match because each team has their mainstay players who are equally great and can always be the savior in achieving victory.

From the end of this match, one of them will go down because Al Taawon and Al Nassr will definitely rise to first and second place.

Al-ittihad are one of the strongest teams this season in the SPL and their performance has been so brilliant that's why they're currently in the 2nd place in the table with about 19 points, 3 points above Al-Ahli,  however in the match between both teams, Al-ittihad are favourites to win the game cause they're performing better and are playing with a home advantage and according to their head to head games Al-ittihad have been more dominant and has won more matches in their past 5 games and now they got more European players especially Kareem Benzema and Ngolo kante in their team, they stand a better chance to win the game.

 Al-ittihad need to win the game else they'll drop points and give other teams opportunities to top them, therefore they need to be careful and not underestimate their opponent,  even though they're favorites to win the game.

[Abu-Naim]

Odds look quite strange for the Al Ahli vs Al Ittihad match. I would have expected much closer odds than what they have right now (heavily biased in favor of Al Ittihad). And this is strange, given that Karim Benzema is out injured and he is unlikely to take part in this match. He has missed out on previous three matches, and this will be the 4th match in a row that he is not playing. Also, from what I heard the Al Ittihad fans are also frustrated with Benzema. So far he has scored just 3 goals and 2 assists in the Saudi Professional League.

Benzema being out on injury should not be the reason the odd should have a similar margin because, even before his arrival, Al Ittihad has been winning them when you check their match history; moreover, Abderrazak Hamdallah is also there, and he is one of the Al Ittihad goal scorers because he has scored six goals this season. Therefore, I think they did not have a problem even without Benzema on the team.

There is big difference in the odds. Al-Ittihad to win the match @1.97 and Al-Ahli Saudi @3.30 which is huge difference. Both the teams have got a very narrow difference in the points table, Al-Ittihad placed at the second position with 18 points and Al-Ahli Saudi is at 6^th position with 16 points. Injury seems to be a big problem with Benzema, during his previous season with Real Madrid he had missed 16 matches out of injury. Even in the World Cup he was out due to injury.

The odds is ok because it is a clear winning chance for Al Ittihad, but betting both teams to score will be better if you don't want to risk losing money.

[swogerino]

Odds look quite strange for the Al Ahli vs Al Ittihad match. I would have expected much closer odds than what they have right now (heavily biased in favor of Al Ittihad). And this is strange, given that Karim Benzema is out injured and he is unlikely to take part in this match. He has missed out on previous three matches, and this will be the 4th match in a row that he is not playing. Also, from what I heard the Al Ittihad fans are also frustrated with Benzema. So far he has scored just 3 goals and 2 assists in the Saudi Professional League.

Al Ittihad I don't think is that much stronger compared to Al Ahli so yeah the odds are quite strange but remember every time that we think the odds are strange the bookies know something that we don't so I would be careful on betting on that game.

Betting on both teams to score,and over 2.5 goals as same game bet builder would be a good option and why not over 3.5 goals instead of 2.5 goals,in this league we usually see quite some goals scored per game.Benzema can make a difference and when he is not playing it means that the odds are biased but as I said we don't know the same data with the bookies,they know much more than us.

[Oneandpure]

european star players who are quite old certainly not be a problem, the most important thing is that their performance is still a bit the same as when they were young and for Ronaldo, who thinks he has almost the same performance when he was young, its just that his ball control skills are definitely slightly reduced due to age it will definitely have a little influence and in fact Ronaldo is still known as scoring machine as you said, even like Benzema and Neymar who are also in one of the SPL teams at the moment are not able to perform optimally because they need time to adapt and well I hope that European players who have the age a bit old will still shine in this SPL.

Actually Karim Benzema and Neymar are first season with Saudi Pro League teams and they need time for adapting about weather where difference condition between Europe and Saudi Arabia, its they can adapting well not close opportunity to make compete with Cristiano Ronaldo in top scorer standings position. Its not really bad with Karim Benzema performance in this season, from 6 matches in domestic league he has contribution with 3 goals and 2 assists. Just waiting moment only for Karim Benzema lead top scorer from Cristiano Ronaldo have adapted well with Saudi Arabia weather after second season played for Al Nassr. Not depending with Karim Benzema and Neymar more younger than Cristiano Ronaldo but depend on how long with Ronaldo have played in  Saudi Pro League than Karim Benzema and Neymar as their first season with Saudi Arabia club.

[klidex]

~snip~

Al Ittihad's manager (Nuno Espírito Santo) had some issues with Karim Benzema, since he wanted to give more priority to Abderrazak Hamdallah. So he will be more or less happy with the absence of Benzema. Their next match is against one of the toughest opponents (Al Ahli) in the Saudi Professional League. Their last match didn't ended well for them, as they conceded a goal-less draw against Al Feiha. If they had got 3 points from that match, then they would have retained their position as the top team in points table.

Yes, this match is quite difficult to prediction If Al-Ittihad is not able to beat Al-Ahli, it is possible that this match will end in a draw like their last match.
However, I still hope that both clubs can score goal and determine victory so they can change their current position.
I don't know what the problem is with Karim Benzema and his manager, but what is clear is that dont let this feud make their clubs performance worse I hope Al-Ittihad is able to be consistently until the end the season and can face AFC Champions League optimally.

[QueenVera]

Actually Karim Benzema and Neymar are first season with Saudi Pro League teams and they need time for adapting about weather where difference condition between Europe and Saudi Arabia, its they can adapting well not close opportunity to make compete with Cristiano Ronaldo in top scorer standings position. Its not really bad with Karim Benzema performance in this season, from 6 matches in domestic league he has contribution with 3 goals and 2 assists. Just waiting moment only for Karim Benzema lead top scorer from Cristiano Ronaldo have adapted well with Saudi Arabia weather after second season played for Al Nassr. Not depending with Karim Benzema and Neymar more younger than Cristiano Ronaldo but depend on how long with Ronaldo have played in  Saudi Pro League than Karim Benzema and Neymar as their first season with Saudi Arabia club.

Both players are top class and their performance this season is not really bad so far, like you said Benzema has played in 6 matches for Al-ittihad since his arrival and has scored 3 goals and 2 assists which is not very poor however Neymar as well has a good start since his arrival he's been played 3 times and produced 2 assists,  though they might not come close to Ronaldo's goal scoring ability of which they never did even while playing for the top European teams they played for but they're good in their own ways.

 Well Ronaldo is expected to adapt in his team more than they do for there's cause he's been at Al-Nasr since last season whereas Neymar and Benzema just got in this summer, and still have to blend in well to start performing like Ronaldo and i believe we're yet to see their best in the league cause they're both world class and proven players in their previous clubs.

[Plaguedeath]

Al Ittihad I don't think is that much stronger compared to Al Ahli so yeah the odds are quite strange but remember every time that we think the odds are strange the bookies know something that we don't so I would be careful on betting on that game.

It's because Al Ittihad is currently in higher position than Al Ahli and the match will happen in Al Ittihad's home, that's make Al Ittihad is the favorite. But I also agree if Al Ahli has a better quality, I think Al Ahli will beat Al Ittihad with small margins.

Despite Al Ittihad has Hamdallah, but this player's recent matches history wasn't good, he just lucky for score 5 goals until now.

[shogun47]

But is also shows that the Saudi Professional League is so much easier to play for these superstars because I doubt that Mane and Ronaldo would have the same goal count and assist count in the Premier League or another European top league. Of course it is their job to score in their position, but the frequency would incredible in any European league. I don't think it is as impressive in this league though. But still it is a performance that should be respected.

For players who are full of experience in the top European leagues, of course playing in the Saudi league is not a problem, especially at an old age like now, they can still have the opportunity to become top scorers. Both Ronaldo and Mane are experienced strikers and previously they also played as wingers at a fairly young age. So it's not surprising that all European players at a relatively old age will still be crazy when it comes to scoring goals. Not too impressive because we have often seen both of them during their prime, so scary for any team's defense that what they are doing now is like repeating the previous time but with less intensity.

Well yes but I think it is also important to put things into perspective. Ronaldo made a decision and left the European top leagues, but sometimes I wonder whether he wouldn't have been able to go for two or three years on a top level with a great team. But his attitude destroyed this option. I would have preferred to see him on a high level as he is still amazingly athletic. Ibrahimovic was able to contribute to his teams so I am sure that he could have done it as well. But ok that is history, now he is breaking records in Saudi Arabia.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Al Ittihad I don't think is that much stronger compared to Al Ahli so yeah the odds are quite strange but remember every time that we think the odds are strange the bookies know something that we don't so I would be careful on betting on that game.

It's because Al Ittihad is currently in higher position than Al Ahli and the match will happen in Al Ittihad's home, that's make Al Ittihad is the favorite. But I also agree if Al Ahli has a better quality, I think Al Ahli will beat Al Ittihad with small margins.

Despite Al Ittihad has Hamdallah, but this player's recent matches history wasn't good, he just lucky for score 5 goals until now.

I can't say a particular team is favorite in this match. Considering Ittihad's home match,  perhaps they can be considered favourites . But Al Ahli's performance is bad. This group is very strong. They have  several talented players in their squad. And their attack is quite strong.

Al Ahli's main  weakness is their defence. The defense of this team is relatively weak . They conceded 13 goals in 8 matches. On the other hand  ittihad conceded only 5 goals in 8 matches. If AL ahli can keep their defense strong  in this match, if the defenders can play well then the  team has a chance to get points against Ittihad . But if the defense is weak, it will be very difficult to counter the Ittihad team.

[Jody.Drummer]

Al Ittihad I don't think is that much stronger compared to Al Ahli so yeah the odds are quite strange but remember every time that we think the odds are strange the bookies know something that we don't so I would be careful on betting on that game.

It's because Al Ittihad is currently in higher position than Al Ahli and the match will happen in Al Ittihad's home, that's make Al Ittihad is the favorite. But I also agree if Al Ahli has a better quality, I think Al Ahli will beat Al Ittihad with small margins.

Despite Al Ittihad has Hamdallah, but this player's recent matches history wasn't good, he just lucky for score 5 goals until now.

Apart from the host status, also the standings are a consideration why the bookie gives Al Ittihad a chance, other than that the meeting record from their last 5 matches, Al Ittihad dominated the victory by winning 3 wins, while Al Ahli only recorded 1 win and 1 other match ended with a draw. The conditions of Al Ahli are also inconsistent with winning then they lose, and so on, while Al Ittihad has a record of 4 consecutive wins. With inconsistent conditions it is natural when we feel skeptical of them.