JEDDAH, 18 January 2008 — Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli renew their long-running rivalry when they clash today in a Saudi League match at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium where legions of fans from both sides are expected to watch the action in a show of undying loyalty.
With their chances of winning the crown already gone Ahli play for prestige more than anything else though they will be out to avenge their 2-0 defeat in the first round of the football competition.
Ittihad, being pursued at the top of the team standings by Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab, are under pressure to deliver the game three points and head off any chance of their pursuers gaining advantage.
Any result other than a win would be a welcome gift for Hilal and Shabab. Ittihad can ill afford to drop a point with either a win or draw especially since the second-ranked Hilal have two pending matches, which in the language of football means 6 more points for the taking even before they catch up in the number of matches played.
Ittihad are sitting pretty in first position with 34 points from 15 matches, 10 wins, 4 draws and one loss. Ahli are in fifth place with 22 points from 6 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses, getting there on the back of three straight victories.
While Ahli are motivated by pride and revenge Ittihad are no less consumed by a desire to settle the score from their two painful final defeats in the Crown Prince Cup and Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup last season against Ahli.
On paper, odds are just about even in the Ittihad-Ahli match-up. Goalkeepers Yasser Al-Musaileem of Ahli and Ittihad’s Tayseer Al-Nteef are both showing excellent performances. They, however, share one major disadvantage, which is bad timing when leaving their post to claim a ball.
Ittihad enjoy a slight advantage in defense line over Ahli with their array of old reliables Adnan Falata, Hamad Al-Muntasheri, Osama Al-Muwallad and Ahmad Al-Dokhi. Ahli are banking on Leonardo, Waleed Abdurabbu, Ibraheem Hazzazi and Muhammad Massad.
The midfield line is equally strong with Chico, Manaf Abu Sheer, Saud Kariri and Muhammad Nur in Ittihad’s side. Nur and Chico are both strong attacking midfielders who can be relied upon on scoring. Tayseer Al-Jasim, Kaio, Saheb Al-Abdullah and Homoud Abbas will be manning the Ahli midfield. Kaio is still not up to his level of performance, while Saheb and Al-Jasim are great backups in the striking line. By comparison, Ittihad have more depth in the midfield than Ahli.
In the striking line, Ahli boast a player that strikes fear in Ittihad fans in Malek Muaz. Ittihad fans remember Muaz and how he contributed a lot in Ahli winning the two major domestic titles last year. Fabiano plays backup to Muaz and he managed to deliver excellent performance with Ahli so far, scoring many goals. Ittihad will have the strike pair of Alves and Kita. Kita is known for his speed and quick moves while Alves has proven himself to be a good deal for Ittihad this season.
Wehda host Al-ittifaq in another strong match in the league today. The match is very important for Wehda, who lost a string of matches and dropped to seventh position with 19 points from fourth.
Wehda want to put an end the losing streak with a victory against Ittifaq. It would be a tall order though as Ittifaq are playing good so far with 21 points in the sixth position.
Hilal host Taie in the day’s third match. Hilal are in second place with 29 points and Taie 11th with 7 points.
