Al Khaleej vs. Al Hazem

Saudi Pro League 2023-24 Game: Al Khaleej vs. Al Hazem | Date: August 29th 2023 | Time: 23:30 Hrs. | Location: Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam

Fulltime: Al Khaleej 1-1 Al Hazem

On Tuesday, Al Khaleej will meet Al Hazem at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in round four of the Saudi Professional League. Both teams could do with a win.

After failing to win any of their first three games, both teams will enter the midweek battle hoping to find their feet and get their season started.

Al Khaleej vs. Al Hazem : Preview

Al Khaleej were held to a 1-1 draw by Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium last Thursday, denying them their first win of the new Professional League season.

Despite being on the back foot for the majority of the game, Fabio Martins gave the visitors the lead in the 29th minute, but Brazilian forward Vitinha equalized five minutes later.

Before that, Pedro Emanuel‘s men began the season with two consecutive defeats, falling 3-1 to Al-Fayha in the league opener on August 12, five days before being defeated by Al-Ahli by the same scoreline.

Al Khaleej’s sluggish start to the season has been attributed to problems on the defensive end of the pitch, as they have conceded seven goals so far – only Al-Raed has conceded more (8).

Al Khaleej’s next opponent is a team that has won three of their last four meetings, with the exception being a 2-1 loss in the second leg of their relegation playoff match in 2019.

Al Hazem, like Tuesday’s hosts, have had a slow start to their return to the Saudi Arabian top division, with only one point from the first nine games.

Filipe Gouveia‘s men won 20 of their 34 second-division matches last season, drawing eight and losing six, to finish third in the table and secure promotion with 68 points.

Al Hazem, on the other hand, was given a baptism of fire in the league opening on August 11, when they were defeated 3-1 by Al Ahli, seven days before losing 2-0 to Al-Ettifaq.

Last Friday, Hazem Al-Samood reacted with a good defensive effort, holding on for a goalless draw against Al-Fayha at the King Salman Sport City Stadium.

TEAM NEWS

Mohamed Sherif impressed in his debut against Al-Ettifaq, and the former Al-Ahly player, who set up Martins’ opener last Thursday, should spearhead the Al Khaleej assault once more.

In the final third, he will most likely be accompanied by Portuguese attacker Martins and 30-year-old Mansour Hamzi, while Woo-Young Jung and Abdulelah will likely play together.

We anticipate an unchanged defensive pairing of Lisandro Lopez and Mohammed Al Khabrani, although Omar Al-Aowda is a doubt after being hurt last Thursday.

Despite missing a penalty against Al-Fayha on Friday, Toze, Yousef Al-Shammari, and former Gremio forward Vina should drive Al Hazem’s attack for the fourth consecutive game.

Following last week’s strong defensive performance, Farhan Al-Azmi, Abdurahman Al-Dakheel, Bruno Viana, and Radhi Al-Oteibi should keep their positions in the back four, with Aymen Dahmen starting in goal once more.

Al Khaleej’s possible starting lineup:

Sehic; Rebocho, Lopez, Al-Khabrani, Al-Aowda; Jung, Abdulelah; Martins, Rodrigues, Hazmi; Sherif

Al Hazem’s possible starting lineup:

Dahmen; Al-Azmi, Al-Dakheel, Viana, Al-Oteibi; Traore, Al-Sayyali, Al-Habashi; Shammari, Vina, Toze

Al Khaleej vs. Al Hazem: Who can win?

Al Khaleej and Al Hazem have stumbled into the new Professional League season and will look for a boost on Tuesday. On paper, both sides are evenly matched, and we anticipate that their efforts will cancel each other out and they will settle for a share of the spoils.

Score UPDATE: Al Khaleej vs. Al Hazem 29th August 2023

Al Khaleej 1-1 Al Hazem

Goals:

Al Khaleej: Fabio Martins 22′

Al Hazem: Vivicius Goes de Souza 61′ (P)