RIYADH — The current Saudi Pro League (SPL) campaign kicked-off on Aug. 22, 2019 as Al Nasr took on newly promoted Damac, not many would’ve predicted that 365 days later the season still had four rounds left in store.
The round 27 kicks-off this evening in Dammam as Al Ittifaq takes on in-form Al Raed at the Prince Mohamed Bin Fahd Stadium. The previous round witnessed the gap at the top of the table between Al Hilal and Riyadh neighbors Al Nasr decrease from 9 to 6 points following Al Ahli’s 2-1 win over the league leaders.
Will we witness another twist in the title race? Who is in the lead for the Golden Glove award? These are some of the questions we’ll be shining a light on in this week’s five things to know ahead of the SPL’s round 27.
The season’s 600-goal mark set to be broken this round
The 19/20 campaign got off the mark when Al Nasr’s Brazilian playmaker Giuliano scored in his team’s 2-1 victory over Damac. Since that day one year ago, a further 591 goals hit the back of the net this season. An average of 2.8 goals were scored in each of the 208 encounters so far. 51.7% (306) of them came from players’ right-feet. Meanwhile, 151 left-footed strikes landed at the back of the net, representing 25% of all goals, 118 goals were scored by headers and the remaining 12 came from other body parts, such as the chest, shoulder or thigh.
Al Hilal lead with the strongest attacking force with 63 goals scored so far, meanwhile Al Nasr and Al Ahli follow with 48 and 44 goals, respectively.
Fierce head-to-head encounters at the bottom of the table
The fight for survival was reignited during the last round as Al Ittihad, Al Fateh and Damac and Al Fayha all recorded draws, meanwhile Al Hazm earned a much needed 3 points against Abha and Al Adalah surrendered to a 4-2 loss against Al Wehda.
Round 27 will witness head-to-head encounters between some of the teams battling for survival as Al Ittihad (12th) take on Al Fayha (11th) at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, and Al Hazm (13th) play host to Al Fateh (14th) at Al Hazm Club Stadium. Both matches are not to be missed and will undoubtedly play a big part in the ever-changing positions at the bottom of the SPL table.
Will Brad Jones cement his position at the top of the clean sheet’s standings?
The most sought-after award for any goalkeeper is the ‘Golden Glove’ award, and one man has been in its lead since the start of the season – Al Nasr’s Brad Jones. The 38-year-old Australian veteran sits comfortably at the top position with 12 clean sheets to his name in his last 26 games all the while conceding the least amount of goals (21) in the competition. He has been followed closely all season by Tunisian international Farouk Bin Mustapha (Al Shabab), the reigning winner of the award, with 10 clean sheets and 33 goals conceded so far. Saudi Arabian duo Al Maiouf (Al Hilal) and Mustapha Malaika (Al Faisaly), alongside Algeria’s Mustapha Zeghba (Damac) follow closely with 8 clean sheets to their names.
Al Hilal looking to cement their lead at the top of the table
Al Ahli 2-1 victory over Al Hilal and Al Nasr’s convincing 4-1 win over Al Taawoun signaled a change at the top of the table, much to the delight of Al Nasr’s faithful. The gap between the two Riyadh giants stood at 9 points since Răzvan Lucescu’s men’s 4-1 victory in the Riyadh derby on Aug. 5. However, following the results of the last round a mere 6 points separate both teams meaning the league’s champion may not be decided until the last kick of a ball on Sept. 9.
Al Hilal faces in-form Al Faisaly Tuesday evening at the King Saud University Stadium, meanwhile Al Nasr welcome Al Adalah to the King Fahd International Stadium. Will we see a further shift in the title race, or will Al Hilal protect their existing 6-point lead?
Al Raed remain the only unbeaten team since the restart
The 144-day break did not affect the Buraidah-based team as they continued their outstanding run of form since the start of the year. They currently sit in 6th position with just 1 point separating them from the Champions League qualification spots. So far, Besnik Hasi’s men recorded a convincing 3-0 victory over Damac, 0-0 draw against Al Wehda, 3-1 win over Al Hazm and a thrilling 2-1 victory over Riyadh-based Al Shabab. Al Raed remain the only team yet to record a loss since the restart in the remaining four rounds and will look to protect their record as they visit Dammam to face off Al Ittifaq. — SG
