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The highly ambitious Al Ettifaq on the other hand began their Steven Gerrard reign with back-to-back wins and they are one of only three teams to win their first two matches. Gerrard’s crew look hungry for more as they now host the pointless so far Al Khaleej. Here is all the latest team news from both camps and our Al Ettifaq vs Al Khaleej predicted lineups.
Contents
The game is scheduled for Thursday, August 24th and will be played at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Ad Dammam. The kick-off time is 19:00 GMT. Now, let’s look at all the team news and also at our Al Ettifaq vs Al Khaleej predicted lineups.
Al Ettifaq vs Al Khaleej Predicted Lineups and News
Before we go into more details regarding the Al Ettifaq vs Al Khaleej possible lineups we’ll give you the latest team news for each team and what that means for their overall strength. And if you can’t make it to the stadium don’t worry, you can always enjoy all the action on TV.
Team news: Al Ettifaq
Al Ettifaq brought the Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard to be their new manager as the club began aggressive investment in top talent from Europe. One of Gerrard’s first signings was his ex-Liverpool teammate Jordan Henderson, who has also become Al Ettifaq’s new captain. So, the English feeling in the middle of the Saudi desert is pretty strong and Al Ettifaq have big targets this season.
Anyone fancy a cuppa? 🏴 ☕#Ettifaq pic.twitter.com/4uXCSdHe24
— Ettifaq Club (@Ettifaq_EN) July 27, 2023
Al Ettifaq showed they will be serious players in the race for the top 3 positions with their 2-1 away win vs Al-Nassr in round 1. Ettifaq came from behind to claim this win, with their cause admittingly helped by the fact that CR7 was missing injured. Another solid display in round 2 brought a 2-0 away victory vs Al Hazem and this means that Gerrard’s team are one of only three sides to secure all 6 points so far.
Al Ettifaq are likely to use the same front 3 as in the last round. Especially, with all of the three new forwards already scoring a goal each. The team’s new captain Jordan Henderson is likely to miss a second consecutive game due to an injury though. In Ozdemir a quality cover is available. The heart of the defence is well protected by the duo Tissenard-Hendry.
Al Ettifaq Predicted Lineups (4-3-3):
Victor – Abdulrahman, Tisserand, Hendry, Al-Khateeb – Al-Ghamdi, Ozdemir, Hazazi – Quaison, Dembele, Vitinho
Photo by Icon Sport
Team news: Al Khaleej
Al Khaleej flirted with danger all of last season and they only just avoided the drop. The start of the new campaign hasn’t been very encouraging either with back-to-back similar 1-3 defeats suffered already.
Al Khaleej are light on the flanks right now with the main left winger Al-Torais sidelined, while the other starting winger Amaral is yet to play due to visa issues. Striker Sherif and aggressive inner midfielder Poko nurse injuries too, but they both have been pictured back in training this week so might at least make the bench.
Al Khaleej Predicted Lineups (4-2-3-1):
Sehic – Al-Owdah, Al-Khabrani, Lopez, Rebocho – Al-Sumairi, Jung – Al-Ibrahim, Rodrigues, Martins – Al Salem
Will Jordan Henderson play for Al Ettifaq?
Al Etttifaq’s new captain and ex-Liverpool one Jordan Henderson sustained an injury on his Saudi debut in round 1. He missed the second match and it seems it will be a touch-and-go decision if he will be playing now. Considering his age and history of injuries Gerrard might opt not to risk Henderson.
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