Damac will look to get out of the relegation zone when they visit Al Wahda in the Saudi Pro League. The visitors have not won a game in their first five games and have only accrued three points. The home team is three points ahead of them in ninth place after winning two of those games.
Preview (Al Wahda vs. Damac)
Al Wahda turned their attention to the new season with the goal of ensuring a more easy finish this time around after just surviving relegation from the Saudi Pro League the previous season owing to a strong finish to the season that saw them finish 13th with 32 points from their 30 games. Anselmo and Hussain Al-Eisa put them up 2-0 at halftime. Yahya Naji restored the two-goal lead deep into injury time after the visitors pulled one back. They were able to get off to a quick start despite losing 1-0 to Al Riyadh on the first day. Georgios Donis’s team then defeated Al Shabab 3-1 at home.
The Knights of Mecca won 3-0 against Al Tai after keeping their first clean sheet of the year. Faycal Fajr scored the game’s first goal in the first half. Saeed Al Muwallad added a second goal an hour later. Odion Ighalo added a third goal in stoppage time to cap a commanding performance. However, they have been unable to build on those successes. They now enter the sixth round of league matches on the heels of back-to-back losses.
Al Wahda dropped to ninth place after five Saudi Pro League games as a result of those crushing defeats. The Knights of Mecca will be eager to bounce back. They will look to get back to winning ways at home on Thursday. Flavio and Sattam Al Roqi gave the hosts a 2-0 lead at halftime. Waleed Al-Ahmad and Ahmed Ashraf Al-Fiqi made it four after the break. Damac, who had a poor start after finishing ninth the previous season, stands in their way. They are still looking for their first three-point haul of the league season.
Team News
Georgios Donis may want to make multiple changes to his Al Wahda starting XI on Thursday after their two straight humiliating losses. Odion Ighalo should once again lead the line after earning his first start for the team last time out after joining from Al Hilal. In a front three, Hazzaa Al Ghamdi, Abdulaziz Noor, and the Nigerian will all try to hold onto their positions on either side. Veteran Faycal Fajr, who has already scored twice this season after last season’s three goals and eight assists in the Saudi Pro League, is still an important player in midfield. Anselmo should once more join him in the backfield, while Jawad El Yamiq, a summer acquisition, will be counted on.
Assan Ceesay, who joined Damac from Lecce during the summer and scored his first two goals for the team in their eventual 2-2 draw with Al Fateh, is anticipated to start in the center of the line for Damac on Thursday. Abdulaziz Al-Bishi and the threatening Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, who has already scored twice since moving from Besiktas, ought to join him up front. In the engine room, Domagoj Antolic is a dependable partner for Bader Munshi, and Contra should use the same back three of Hassan Al-Shamrani, Farouk Chafai, and Abdelkader Bedrane. We expect a close game on Thursday between two teams trying to snap losing streaks, and since the visitors lack confidence after failing to pick up a win so far this season, we back the Knights of Mecca to win at home.
Al Wahda 2 – 1 Damac
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