Al-Nasr is looking forward to continuing its perfect start in the Saudi Professional League, when it meets Riyadh in the second round of the tournament.
In a strong and exciting test, Al-Qadisiyah faces its counterpart Al-Ittihad in the first summit of this season, while Al-Hazm receives its rival, Al-Diriyah, and Al-Faisaly and NEOM renew their confrontation a few days after their meeting in the King’s Cup.
Attention is turning to the capital, where Riyadh will host its counterpart Al-Nassr in a confrontation during which the hosts are looking to regain their balance after losing to Al-Ittifaq 4-2 in the opening round, while the yellow team enters the match with high morale and a desire to continue its strong start.
Al-Nasr had opened its season with a wide victory over Al-Fateh by three clean goals, presenting itself in a strong manner since the first round, despite the absence of its Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo, before facing Al-Diriyah in the round of 32 of the King’s Cup and succeeding in passing to the next round with a score of 4-1.
Riyadh is aware of the difficulty of its task against a competitor who has multiple attacking options, while Al-Nasr is looking for the full mark and to continue its presence among the leading teams since the first rounds.
The capital's yellow presented itself in a very exemplary manner in terms of offensive performance, despite talk about the changes that the team might appear as a result of the departure of Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, but his predecessor, the Australian Postecoglou, succeeded in leading the team to a sharp attacking approach that appeared in the first matches.
In one of the most prominent matches of the round, Al-Qadisiyah hosts its counterpart Al-Ittihad in a strong test for the Al-Jeddawi team, which seeks to present a better image after being content with a draw against Al-Khuloud at the beginning of its league career.
Al-Ittihad aspires to return with a positive result and avoid losing more points at an early stage, especially in light of its ambitions to compete for advanced positions, while Al-Qadisiyah looks forward to investing the ground staff and the public and confirming its ability to compete with one of the most prominent teams in the competition.
Al-Qadisiyah is showing different abilities this season, after its victory against Al-Shabab in the first round in four, as it returned to crush Al-Taei by five in the round of 32 of the King’s Cup and progresses to the round of 16 of the tournament, with a wonderful offensive performance and a very perfect coordination for the entire team.
As for Al-Ittihad, which also recorded its victory in the cup tournament that followed the round against Al-Najma, one of the first division teams, it will face a difficult technical test with the start of the season.
In another confrontation, Al-Diriyah will host Al-Hazm, in a meeting during which the two teams search for a result that will give them an early boost in the league race.
Al-Diriyah presented itself in a remarkable manner in its historical first appearance in the Saudi Professional League, despite its loss to Al-Ahly with an unanswered goal. The team has shown great ability to keep up with its competitors, and aspires to translate its level into points when it faces Al-Hazm.
The confrontation between Al-Faisaly and NEOM has a different character. The meeting between them will be renewed only a few days after their confrontation in the 32nd round of the King’s Cup. Which makes the cards of the two teams more exposed to the two technical staff.
Al-Faisaly seeks to confirm its ability to compete with its competitors after its remarkable appearance against Al-Hilal in the first round, despite its 4-2 loss, as “Annabi Sudair” played a good match and was close to returning the result during more than one stage.
On the other hand, NEOM started its league campaign in an ideal way after beating Al-Fayhaa 2-1, before continuing its journey with a valuable victory against Al-Faisaly and qualifying for the round of sixteen of the King’s Cup, as it looks forward to continuing to collect points and confirm its strong start.
The draw for the round of 16 of the King's Cup prevented the major teams from clashing with each other at this stage, which indicates football excitement in the final stages.
The lottery was drawn openly without specific levels, as happened in the first round (round of 32), in which two levels were determined between the Saudi Professional League teams and the first-class teams.
The defending champion, Al-Hilal, will face its counterpart, Al-Hazm, at its home stadium in the capital, Riyadh, while Al-Nasr will have a date with Al-Khuloud in Al-Awal Park, and Al-Jabalain will receive its counterpart, Al-Ittihad, in the city of Hail, while Al-Ahly will face a strong confrontation against Al-Ula.
Al-Taawoun hosts its counterpart Al-Wahda in the city of Buraidah, and Al-Riyadh faces its counterpart Al-Fayhaa, while Al-Oruba receives its guest, Al-Akhdood, in a confrontation that carries a special character in the first place.
The King's Cup championship confirmed, through the results of the 32nd round, that it is a competition that does not recognize technical differences or big names, and that the clubs' path to advanced roles is not measured solely by their position in the Saudi Professional League or the size of their history and championships.
With the end of the Round of 32 competitions, the features of the “Surprise Championship” began to appear clearly, after the competitions witnessed the exit of a number of Saudi Professional League clubs against lower-ranked clubs.
The round of 32 matches witnessed remarkable surprises, after Al-Wahda, Al-Orouba, Al-Akhdood, Al-Ula and Al-Jabalin clubs succeeded in eliminating competitors from the Saudi Professional League clubs.
Al-Wahda overthrew Al-Shabab, and Al-Orouba defeated Abha, while Al-Akhdood achieved a surprise against Al-Khaleej, and Al-Ula succeeded in eliminating Al-Fateh, while Al-Jabalin continued its surprises by knocking out Al-Ettifaq, one of the clubs with a history in the King’s Cup tournament. The value of the surprise increases when it comes to Al-Shabab and Al-Ettifaq, as they are not just two teams from the Premier League, but rather clubs that have previously won the King’s Cup, which makes their early exit a prominent feature in this season’s edition.
One of the most prominent reasons that could explain the early exit of some Premier League clubs is the difference in priorities between the tournaments.
The season is long, and the Saudi Professional League needs stability, regularity, and scoring points, which prompts some coaches to deal with cup matches in a different way, especially when the match is between a team from the Premier League and other first-class teams.
This may appear by giving some key players a rest period, and involving less frequent players, which is a decision that may seem logical in terms of managing physical loads, but in return it carries a great risk. Because cup matches do not give the team a chance to compensate, and losing means leaving the tournament directly.
For years, the King's Cup tournament has been an open space for surprises, especially when lower-level clubs face teams with greater technical and financial capabilities.
This is why cup matches remain different from league matches; Because it gives the less fortunate team one chance to prove itself, while putting the favored team under double pressure.
Coaches alone cannot be held responsible for early exit, as season management has become more complex with the large number of local, continental and international matches and commitments.
But what happens in the round of 32 proves that the King's Cup still maintains its own identity as a tournament of surprises.
The teams “Al-Wahda, Al-Orouba, Al-Akhdood, Al-Ula and Al-Jabalin” provided a clear example that the differences between the clubs on paper do not necessarily mean the differences on the field.
