With Roberto Firmino having scored a hat-trick on his Al-Ahli debut, Al Raqi will be looking to register back-to-back wins when they take on Al-Khaleej in Thursday's Saudi Pro League encounter.
Another former Premier League star Riyad Mahrez was among the assists in the 3-1 win over Al-Hazm on Friday, while Al-Khaleej opened their campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Al-Feiha.
The notable difference will be in the number of high-profile names the visitors can boast of, with the likes of Firmino, Mahrez, Franck Kessie, Edouard Mendy, Allan Saint-Maximin and Roger Ibanez, managed by former RB Salzburg boss Matthias Jaissle.
Here GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch, including TV channel, streaming details and more.
Al-Khaleej vs Al-Ahli kick-off time & stadium
| Date: | August 17, 2023 |
| Kick-off time: | 2 pm ET |
| Venue: | Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia |
The Saudi Pro League match between Al-Khaleej and Al-Ahli will be played at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
It will kick off at 2 pm EDT in the United States (UK).
How to watch Al-Khaleej vs Al-Ahli online - TV channels & live streams
The game will be available to watch and stream online live through Shahid.
GOAL will have live updates of the game on its Live Match Center page.
Team news & squads
Al-Khaleej team news
The Saihat-based side is managed by former Porto defender Pedro Emanuel, and he is expected to lay out a 4-2-3-1 formation with Abdulla Al-Salem up front.
The Portuguese duo of Fabio Martins and Ivo Rodrigues would also be involved in attack, while South Korea international Jung Woo-young is put in charge of midfield.
Al-Khaleej possible XI: Sehic; Al-Owdah, Al-Shanqiti, Lopez, Rebocho; Jung, Al-Sumairi; Al-Abdan, Rodrigues, Martins; Al-Salem.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Al-Dubais, Hawsawi, Sehic, Al-Haidari, Al-Dossary |
| Defenders: | Lopez, Anthony, Al-Khabrani, Al-Shanqiti, Rebocho, Amaral, Al-Mutairi, Al-Sebyani, Al-Hamsl, Al-Oudah |
| Midfielders: | Poko, Jung, Al-Sumairi, Al-Samti, Al-Majhad, Al-Abdan, Al-Hujaili, Martins, Al-Torais, Al-Darwish, Rodrigues |
| Forwards: | Hamzi, Sherif, Al-Salem, Al-Ibrahim |
Al-Ahli team news
All of Firmino, Mahrez, Saint-Maximin, Kessie, Ibanez and Mendy should keep their place in the XI as Jaissle will more or less field a similar lineup from the Al-Hazm win.
Former Leeds United player Ezgjan Alioski and Saudi Arabia international Ali Majrashi are expected to operate at left-back and right-back, respectively.
Al-Ahli possible XI: Mendy; Majrashi, Ibanez, Hindi, Alioski; Aljohani, Kessie; Mahrez, Boudebouz, Saint-Maximin; Firmino.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Mendy, Al-Rubaie, Al-Sanbi |
| Defenders: | Ibanez, Hindi, Al-Hamad, Abuyabes, Alioski, Al-Zubaidi, Al-Nakhli, Majrashi, Al-Hurayji, Hamed, Adal Mohammed Khadhari |
| Midfielders: | Al-Asmari, Al-Johani, Otayf, Kessie, Al-Majhad, Boudebouz, Saint-Maximin, Al-Nabit, Barrow, Mahrez, Asiri, Al-Rashidi, Al-Ghamdi |
| Forwards: | Firmino, Al-Ali, Al-Mogren, Khadhari |
Head-to-Head Record
Although the two sides played out a 2-2 draw in their last Saudi Pro League meeting, the outcome is expected to be a lot different with Al-Ahli at least on paper looking like the favourites against Al-Khaleej, apart from the dominance in their overall head-to-head record as well.
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 2017 | Al-Khaleej 2-2 Al-Ahli | Saudi Pro League |
| Oct 29, 2016 | Al-Ahli 4-1 Al-Khaleej | Saudi Pro League |
| Feb 5, 2016 | Al-Ahli 1-1 Al-Khaleej | Saudi Pro League |
| Aug 27, 2015 | Al-Khaleej 0-4 Al-Ahli | Saudi Pro League |
| Feb 28, 2015 | Al-Khaleej 1-1 Al-Ahli | Saudi Pro League |