The fifth game week of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League begins on Friday with three incredibly interesting encounters, including a big battle on the east coast.

Check out our preview as we give you an overview of what to look out for as you start your RSL weekend.

Al Nassr vs Al Wehda

Al Awwal Park at King Saud University, Riyadh – KICK-OFF 6:20 p.m

After making his RSL debut with a great 3-0 win at Al Ettifaq, new Al Nassr coach Stefano Pioli will have his first look at the Saudi top flight at his current home.

After suffering their first defeat of the season, Al Ettifaq will be looking to remain unbeaten throughout the 2024/25 season and, perhaps most importantly, continue to climb up the table. Currently Al Nassr is in fifth place, four points behind leaders and RSL champions Al Hilal.

In Al Wehda they host a team trying to recover from back-to-back heavy defeats: the 7-1 defeat in the Old Derby against Al Ittihad in Gameweek 3 and then, in the last game, the extremely disappointing 1-0 -Defeat at home to RSL debutants Al Kholood.

Since then, however, there has been relief: on Sunday, Al Wehda survived their King’s Cup round of 16 tie against First Division League side Al Faisaly – even if it required a penalty shootout. Meanwhile, Al Nassr beat Al Hazem 2-1 on Monday.

It’s fair to say that it won’t be easy for Al Wehda in the early kick-off on Friday. Al Nassr are unbeaten in their last seven RSL games against the Mecca team, winning six of them – including the last four.

Get your tickets for Al Nassr vs Al Wehda HERE

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Al Ittihad vs Al Khaleej

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah – Kick-off 9pm

After this brilliant 7-1 win in the Old Derby, Al Ittihad were hoping to build on this in the fourth game week as Al Hilal ended their record unbeaten run. However, they suffered a 3-1 defeat in Riyadh. Saturday’s Saudi Clasico pitted the top two teams in the table against each other, but it was Al Hilal who edged out their Jeddah rivals at the top.

However, the positive for Al Ittihad could be the form of Karim Benzema: the Al Ittihad captain is second in the goalscoring list with five goals, four of which he scored in his last two RSL games.

Al Khaleej endured a frustrating day last month as Monday’s extra-time defeat to second division side Al Tai in the King’s Cup left them winless for the fourth time. Three of them were losses.

The 0-0 draw at home to Al Fayha in the fourth matchweek was an unwelcome result: an Al Khaleej player is yet to score a goal this season (an own goal sealed the win in the first matchweek).

There are a few more stats against Georgios Donis’ side heading into the game at King Abdullah Sports City: In 18 RSL attempts, Al Khaleej have never beaten a team from Jeddah, while Al Ittihad have beaten seven of the last ten top teams won and drew three. Flight encounters.

Get your tickets for Al Ittihad vs Al Khaleej HERE

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Al Qadsiah vs Al Ahli

Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam – Kick-off 9:00 p.m

The RSL loves to host as many exciting clashes as possible and Friday night in Dammam is no exception. After celebrating its return to the top flight with back-to-back wins, Al Qadsiah picked up a single point from its last two games, including the draw at Al Okhdood in Gameweek 4.

However, there was something to celebrate on Sunday: Michel’s men made it into the round of 16 of the King’s Cup with a 4-1 win against fellow RSL newcomers Al Orobah. Additionally, summer signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally opened his account for the club.

This weekend, Aubameyang will be reunited with Al Ahli striker Ivan Toney, as the two competed against each other in the English Premier League at Chelsea and Brentford respectively a few years ago.

Tony has had a pretty good start to life in the Saudi Arabian top flight, scoring a brace in last Friday’s 4-2 home win against Damac, his second Al Ahli appearance. There was another goal in the King’s Cup on Monday, although Matthias Jaissle’s side suffered a huge surprise defeat against First Division League side Al Jandal (2-1) and were eliminated from the competition.

So there would be no better way than to get back to winning ways against Al Qadsiah, who, like Al Ahli, are determined to fight at the top of the RSL. Given all of this, this should be a very entertaining affair on the East Coast. This is even more true when you consider that none of the last 16 RSL games against each other ended in a draw (Al Ahli 13 wins, Al Qadsiah 3).

Get your tickets for Al Qadsiah vs Al Ahli HERE