Al-Shabab vs Al-Fateh

Al-Shabab Club Stadium sets the stage for a Saudi Pro League final-day dead-rubber contest between Al-Shabab and Al-Fateh.

A top-table finish is still at stake for Al-Shabab, who finished 4th in the Saudi Pro League last season but couldn’t cope with the PIF-backed giants this term. Three consecutive losses in the build-up to the final round don’t bode well, and neither does their underwhelming win ratio of only 33% this league campaign (W11, D8, L14). If it’s any consolation, seven of their 11 top-flight victories have come on home turf. Before a 2-1 defeat to Al-Ahli last time out, Vitor Pereira’s side had won three consecutive home league outings without a reply, suggesting a third victory in five H2Hs at this stadium since 2020 could be on the cards (W2, D1, L1). With three of their last four H2Hs here featuring both teams on the scoresheet, this could be a back-and-forth game.

Visiting Al-Fateh fought back from an early deficit to beat Al-Hazem 2-1 at home last time out to arrest a four-game winless league streak (D2, L2) and maintain a slim chance of replicating last season’s 6th-place finish. However, they lag three points behind Al-Ettifaq, meaning they would end up in seventh even if they snap a two-game winless league run against Al-Shabab (D1, L1) if Steven Gerrard’s men avoid defeat at Al-Taawon. Whether the visitors could hold up their end of the bargain remains questionable after they’ve failed to win any of their last four league games on the road (D1, L3), frustratingly conceding 2+ goals on each occasion. But scoring shouldn’t be an issue for Slaven Bilic’s side, considering they’ve found the net on all seven Saudi Pro League travels in 2024.