In a mid week match in week 18, on Thu Jan 20th, Al Ittifaq plays host to Abha in a meeting of these two Pro League teams. The game day is forecasted to be a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 17 degrees, a perfect day for football. 10th placed Al Ittifaq is fresh off their 2-2 draw against Al Shabab. Souza struck first for Al Ittifaq in the 33rd minute, then Filip Kiss added another in the 37th minute on a feed from Souza. Al Ittifaq is looking for direction having 3 win and 4 losses in their last 10 matches, while in their last match, Abha recorded a 1-0 shutout win against Al Batin. Riyadh Sharahili struck first for Abha in the %Minute minute of the %HalfNumber half’s stoppage time, and that single goal was all that was necessary as neither team could manage any more scoring In the end, Al Batin couldn’t muster any offence and Abha ran away with the shutout win. Abha should be reasonably happy with their recent performance, earning 18 points in their last 10 matches.
In their last match together, in Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Abha and Al Ittifaq battled to a 1-1 draw. Robin Quaison struck first for Al Ittifaq in the 9th minute on a feed from Souza, then Mitchell Te Vrede tied it up for Abha in the 3rd minute of the second half’s stoppage time earning Abha at least a draw.
Abha hasn’t been successful in netting any goals lately. Their top scorers in the last 5 matches are Saad Bguir and Renê Santos, and they each have 1 goal. Naïm Sliti has been the most effective weapon for Al Ittifaq lately. The midfielder has netted 2 goals in his last five matches.