Al Ahly vs Al Ittihad: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Published at :December 14, 2023 at 4:15 PM

Modified at :December 27, 2023 at 5:35 PM

The Saudi side to square up against CAF Champions League winners in second round of the Club World Cup

Al Ahly a side that plays in the Egyptian Premier League will play the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup this Friday. They won the CAF Champions League last season to directly slot in the second round. After 3 back to back draws in all competitions, they now will square up against the 2022-23 Saudi Pro League champs Al Ittihad.

Unlike Al Ahly, Al Ittihad had to forge their way to the second rounds. At the King Abdullah Sports City stadium, the Tigers of Jeddah took on New Zealand-based outfit Auckland City Football Club in the first round. Three goals in the first half helped secure the win for Marcelo Gallardo and progress to the second round where they now will meet the Egyptian outfit Al Ahly.

Kick-Off:

Friday, 15 December 2023 at 6:00 PM UK (11:30 PM IST)

Location: King Abdullah Sport City Stadium

Form

Al Ahly (in all competitions): D-D-D-W-D

Al Ittihad (in all competitions): W-L-W-W-W

Players to Watch

Kahraba (Al Ahly)

Even though Kahraba fired a blank on matchday 3 against CR Belouizdad in the CAF Champions League, head coach Marcel Koller is likely to stick with the forward. After making 9 appearances in all competitions this season, Al Ahly’s number seven has scored 5 goals while also providing 2 assists.

N’Golo Kanté (Al Ittihad)

N'Golo Kante Al-Ittihad Saudi Pro League — **Kante joined Al Ittihad from Chelsea this summer**

Given the torrid season Chelsea are having in the English Premier League, the Blues surely are missing the services of N’Golo Kanté. After the contract expiry, Kanté moved to Saudi Arabia to join Al Ittihad in the summer. The 32-year-old defensive midfielder scored a screamer of a volley last match against Auckland City.

Match Facts

Al Ittihad made it to the second round after a 3-0 win over Auckland City in the first round while Al Ahly directly got seeded to the second round due to winning the CAF Champions League last year
The Egyptian team have recorded 4 draws in the last 5 games in all competitions
Al Ittihad last met Al Ahly in 2005 in the same competition. That game ended 1-0 in favour of the Saudi club

Injury & Team News

Al Ahly are coming into Club World Cup action after a 0-0 draw last game in the CAF Champions League against CR Belouizdad. In that game, we saw French centre-forward Anthony Modeste get a few minutes from the bench. Seemingly Modeste is fit from his injury and might get more minutes here.

Marcelo Gallardo’s Saudi side will have one of the centre-backs out absent against Al Ahly. Luiz Felipe was taken off in the first 15 minutes due to a muscle injury in the defeat to Damac FC last Thursday. Felipe is yet to recover fully. And given Gallardo’s men performed well against Auckland City, we might see the exact lineup once again.

Head to Head

Total Matches – 1

Al Ahly wins – 0

Al Ittihad wins – 1

Draws – 0

Predicted Lineup

Al Ahly predicted lineup (4-3-3):

El Shenawy (GK); Hany, El Hanafi, Rabia, Maaloul; Dieng, Attia, Magdy; Tau, Kahraba, El Shahat

Al Ittihad predicted lineup (4-3-3):

Grohe (GK); Al Shanqeeti, Hegazy, Kadesh, Al Hawsawi; Fabinho, Kanté, Al Ghamdi; Romarinho, Benzema, Coronado

Match Prediction for Al Ahly vs Al Ittihad

These sides have only met once and that game was played back in 2005. Although Al Ittihad won 1-0, they now have a much superior group than they had back then. With former FIFA Club World Cup winners in the ranks such as N’Golo Kanté and Karim Benzema, a win against 2022-23 CAF Champions League winners could be the likely outcome.

Prediction: Al Ahly 0-2 Al Ittihad

Telecast for Al Ahly vs Al Ittihad

India – Eurosport, Fancode, FIFA+

UK – TNT Sports, FIFA+

US – TNT Sports, Discovery+, FIFA+

Nigeria – StarTimes, FIFA+

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