Damac will look to register their first win when they host Al Fateh in the Saudi Professional League. The Abna Al Nakhil will enter this one hoping to defeat the hosts. They failed to win both home and away matches between the teams last season.
Preview (Damac vs. Al Fateh)
Damac was unable to begin their Professional League season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Shabab last Friday when the two teams squared off at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium. Georges-Kevin N’Koudou scored against the flow of play to give the visitors the lead in the 71st minute. This was despite being on the back foot for the majority of the game. Fahad Al-Muwallad equalized the score in the 89th. Prior to that, Cosmin Contra’s team lost 1-0 at Al Tai in the league opener on August 12. It was five days before battling back from a 2-0 deficit to tie 2-2 with Al Riyadh.
Damac defeated Abba 1-0 on May 22 thanks to Abdullah Al-Amar’s second-half goal. Since then have lost twice and drawn three times in their past five Professional League games. The Knight of the South will be attempting to break this losing streak. They will be up against a team that has won two games and drawn three others since January 2023. Al Fateh, on the other hand, endured a 5-0 beating at the hands of a star-studded Al-Nassr.
Sadio Mane’s first-half goal and Cristiano Ronaldo’s three goals helped Luis Castro’s team earn their first victory of the 2023–24 Professional League season. This came after a 3-1 victory over Al Akhdood on August 18. Cristian Tello scored twice and Mourad Batna scored in the 36th minute to enable Al Fateh to come from behind. It earned them their first victory of the year. Slaven Bilic’s team is presently ninth in the Professional League rankings with four points from their first three games. They are two points and five positions ahead of Tuesday’s visitors.
Team News
Ahmed Harisi, a 23-year-old Saudi Arabian attacker, left Friday’s tie with Al-Shabab with an injury, making him a significant question mark for Damac. N’Koudou, a summer acquisition who made an impressive cameo the previous time out, might have the chance to start in his place after joining from Besiktas. The 31-year-old defender Marwane Saadane, who has been out of action since May due to a hernia, will be absent from Al Fateh’s lineup once more.
Apart from that, the Abna Al Nakhil have no known suspension issues going into Tuesday, providing Bilic almost a full squad at his disposal. Despite the humiliating outcome on Friday, we anticipate the Croatian coach to select a similar starting lineup, with Firas Al-Buraikan, who has 15 goals in all competitions this season, leading the attack. We are backing Damac to upset the visitors, who are still smarting from last Friday’s devastating loss, despite the fact that they haven’t won yet this season. Damac has shown resiliency in their last two games.
Damac 2-1 Al Fateh
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