Al Ettifaq have been steady at the start of this season with four victories, three draws and three defeats in their opening ten matches of the campaign as they sit tucked inside the top-half of the table. The hosts returned to action with a comfortable 2-0 defeat of Al Riyadh in their most recent outing, the other day.
They now face an Al Nassr side that, captained by Cristiano Ronaldo, have been very impressive so far this season with ten wins from ten and a four-point lead at the top-of-the-table. They managed to hammer Al Okhdood by three goals to nil the other day with a Cristiano Ronaldo brace before a late Joao Felix strike in that game.
Al Nassr will fancy themselves to overcome Al Ettifaq at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, and they should be sided with here.
Al Nassr are enjoying a dominant season and approach this match as clear favorites. After ten league matches, they have won all ten games and currently sit top of the table with a perfect 30 points, four points ahead of Al Hilal.
They boast the most productive attack in the league with 33 goals scored, while also owning the best defensive record, conceding just five goals. João Félix and Cristiano Ronaldo are the team’s — and the league’s — top scorers, with 12 goals each.
In other competitions, Al Nassr have also been extremely impressive. In the AFC Champions League 2, they finished the group stage with a perfect record, winning all six matches, scoring 22 goals and conceding only two.
Overall, Al Nassr are on a seven-match winning streak across all competitions. Looking at head-to-head meetings against Al Ettifaq, the rivalry has been very balanced recently. In the last five encounters, each team has recorded two wins, with one match ending in a draw. Notably, four of those five matches finished with over 2.5 goals.
