- Al Riyadh are winless in their last five league games (D2, L3).
- Al-Orubah have also failed to win in their last five league games (D1, L4).
- Al Riyadh have drawn their last two home league games (W0, D2).
Al Riyadh are the clear favourites to win Thursday’s game against Al-Orubah at 1.82, while the visitors are 4.21 to take the points and the draw is 3.50. However, the hosts have failed to win in their last five league games and look unlikely to beat an opponent that they overcame 1-0 away from home earlier this season. Al Riyadh are ninth in the Professional League 2024-2025 with 35 points from 29 games, while Al-Orubah are 16th with 27 points from the same number of games. The hosts have five wins, five draws and four defeats from 14 home games this season, scoring 13 goals in total. Sabri Lamouchi has done a solid job since taking over as head coach in July 2024, instilling defensive discipline and structure to a team that are hard to break down at home. Al Riyadh have drawn their last two home league games, which isn’t ideal, but they did manage to battle back to a 2-2 draw against Al Fateh last time out.
Their last three results have been a 2-0 away defeat to Al Ittihad, a 4-0 home defeat to Al-Raed and a 2-2 home draw with Al-Fayha. Ibrahim Bayesh is their top scorer this season with five goals in 29 league games, but he is a reliable outlet in the final third and has been a constant threat. Faiz Selemani has been a clutch player for Al Riyadh, scoring two of their last four goals in the last five league games, keeping the attack ticking over. Adnan Hamad has had a tough job since taking over at Al-Orubah from the dugout in January 2025, but he has tried to keep things tight and simple. Omar Al Somah is their dangerman, scoring seven goals in 12 league games. Al-Orubah are a low block and counter side, sacrificing possession to stay compact at the back and hit on the counter.
Al-Orubah have been poor on the road in the league this season, winning three, drawing two and losing nine of 14 games. They average 0.79 goals per game on their travels and concede an average of 2.29 per game away from home, which is why they are outsiders for this. Our main selection for this game will be Under 2.5 goals as Al Riyadh are a patient side and Al-Orubah are reactive. The hosts have a better league position, home advantage and odds-on favouritism, so we will take them to grind out a narrow win in what should be a cagey game.
