Pro League · Matchday 12 
Our pick2–1Missed
Can Al Taawon Trouble Al-Ettifaq Despite the Gap?
Al-Ettifaq arrive seventh with 18 points, while Al Taawon are 17th on four. But the hosts’ strong recent head-to-head results offer a reason to expect a contest.
📍 King Abdullah Sports City
Preview written:
All Matchday 12 matchesFull head-to-head
Match report
Al Taawon and Al-Ettifaq drew 1-1. Abderrazak Hamdallah put Al Taawon ahead from the penalty spot in the 26th minute. The hosts held that lead until the 90th minute, when Abdullah Al-Khateeb equalised for Al-Ettifaq, assisted by Bersant Celina. There were no red cards.
The numbers showed Al-Ettifaq had the greater share of the match: 65% possession, 16 shots to Al Taawon’s five, and 10 corners to one. Al-Ettifaq also led the expected-goals count, 1.68 to 1.38, and had five shots on target compared with two. Abdullah Khateeb of Al-Ettifaq was the top-rated player, with a 7.2 rating. The 1-1 result differed from the pre-match model’s 2-1 prediction for Al Taawon, which gave the hosts a 43% win chance, a draw 27%, and an Al-Ettifaq win 30%.
Goals
- 26'Abderrazak Hamdallah (pen.) · Al Taawon
- 90'Abdullah Al-Khateeb · Bersant Celina · Al-Ettifaq
Cards
- 18'Parfait Guiagon · Al Taawon
- 21'Jack Hendry · Al-Ettifaq
- 32'Ondrej Duda · Al-Ettifaq
- 51'Abderrazak Hamdallah · Al Taawon
- 69'Abdoulaye Kanté · Al-Ettifaq
- 90+1'Abdalellah Hawsawi · Al-Ettifaq
Match stats
⭐ Top-rated player: Abdullah Khateeb (Al-Ettifaq) 7.2
Ratings and statistics: API-Football.
Confirmed lineups
Al Taawon · 5-4-1
- 1MailsonG
- 45Mohammed Al SaediD
- 4Nasser Al HaleelD
- 5Z. BelaïdD
- 40Ibrahim MahnashiD
- 88M. PetkovD
- 8P. GuiagonM
- 16Faris Al GhamdiM
- 18A. El MahdiouiM
- 10N. BajramiM
- 9A. Hamed AllahF
Coach: V. Rašović
Al-Ettifaq · 4-2-3-1
- 1M. RodákG
- 70Abdullah KhateebD
- 5Pedro HenriqueD
- 4J. HendryD
- 33Madallah Al OlayanD
- 42A. KantéM
- 11O. DudaM
- 17J. LarssonM
- 43B. CelinaM
- 7Khalid Al GhannamM
- 99Sultan Ali HuranF
Coach: Arthur Papas
Match facts
Recent form
Last 5 league games, latest on the right
Goals per game
| · | Scored | Conceded |
|---|---|---|
| Al Taawon | 0.5 | 1.7 |
| Al-Ettifaq | 1.5 | 1.5 |
League position
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Al-Ettifaq | 11 | +1 | 18 |
| 17 | Al Taawon | 11 | -14 | 4 |
Last meetings
- 2026Al-Ettifaq1-0Al Taawon
- 2025Al Taawon4-1Al-Ettifaq
- 2025Al-Ettifaq1-0Al Taawon
- 2024Al Taawon1-1Al-Ettifaq
- 2024Al Taawon1-0Al-Ettifaq
PreviaXI model
Model confidence: Open game
- Predicted score
- 2-1
- Expected goals (model)
- 1.69 – 1.41
- Double chance
- 12 · 73%1X 70% · X2 57%
- Over 2.5 goals
- 60%Over 1.5: 83% · Over 3.5: 37%
- Both teams score
- 63%
- Clean sheet
- 24% – 18%Al Taawon–Al-Ettifaq
- Half-time result
- X · 39%1 34% · 2 27%
- Half-time / full-time
- 1/1 · 26%2/2 18% · X/X 15%
- Expected corners
- 9.15.0 – 4.1 · Over 9.5: 42%
- Expected cards
- 4.31.8 – 2.5 · Over 3.5: 61%
- Most likely scores
- 1-112%
- 2-19%
- 1-28%
- 2-06%
- 2-26%
Statistical model based on expected goals (xG), results and match statistics from the last two seasons. For information only. How our model works →
A stark table gap
Al-Ettifaq sit seventh in the Pro League with 18 points from 11 matches, while Al Taawon are 17th of 18 with just four. That contrast frames the challenge in Buraidah: Al-Ettifaq have the more convincing season, but Al Taawon will look to turn home advantage and a favourable recent record against this opponent into a much-needed result.
The visitors have five wins and three draws so far, compared with Al Taawon’s four draws and seven defeats. Yet the table does not tell the whole story of this particular pairing.
Form points to the visitors
Al Taawon’s recent struggles are difficult to ignore. They have scored only twice and conceded 13 across their last five matches, and remain without a league win after 11 games. Their home record is also winless: three draws and two defeats in five outings.
Al-Ettifaq have been far more productive, scoring nine goals in their last five and taking four wins from five away league matches this season. They have also kept four clean sheets in 11 games, including all four of their away wins. Still, their most recent five-match sequence includes two defeats, so they are not arriving without vulnerabilities.
A rivalry with a twist
Recent meetings give Al Taawon grounds for belief. They won 4-1 at home in September 2025, and have taken two victories and a draw in the last three encounters played in Buraidah. Al-Ettifaq did win the latest meeting, 1-0 in February, and also claimed a 1-0 home victory in February 2025.
The history suggests Al Taawon can trouble their better-placed opponents, even if the latest result went Al-Ettifaq’s way.
No absences listed
Neither side has any absences listed for this match, leaving the focus on how the teams perform with their available squads.
The late threat
Al-Ettifaq have scored seven of their 17 league goals in the 76th minute or later, making their threat particularly relevant if the match remains close. Al Taawon, meanwhile, have scored only five times all season, but their home head-to-head record offers a more encouraging attacking reference point than their broader league numbers.
Our prediction
Al-Ettifaq’s stronger season and away record make them the more convincing side on paper, but Al Taawon’s home wins in recent meetings point to a possible upset. PreviaXI’s model also leans towards a home victory, with Al Taawon’s potential to create enough chances outweighing the visitors’ better overall form.
Al Taawon 2-1 Al-Ettifaq
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