State of Play: How the fight for survival is shaping up upon RSL return

With the Roshn Saudi League resuming on Friday, a number of clubs towards the foot of the table will have increased focus on staying in the top-flight.

Ten matchweeks remain, with only three points separating Al Raed in 13th to second-from-bottom Abha. Currently, Al Hazem prop up the division, six points adrift, and nine from safety.

Can they do enough to not be one of the three teams to drop down into the second tier?

It should make for gripping viewing over the coming couple of months, as each of the club look to secure their place in the 2024-25 RSL. Here’s what faces the league’s five lowest sides.

Al Raed – 13th, 24 points

Igor Jovicevic’s side are the best-placed of the teams locked on 24 points, courtesy purely of a superior goal difference. They have recorded some notable victories during the past few months, such as the 3-1 win at second-placed Al Nassr earlier this month. They secured the same result in December at champions Al Ittihad.

In fact, Al Raed have lost only three of their past 10 RSL matches and, with Moroccan duo Karim El Berkaoui (nine goals) and Mohammed Fouzair (six), they have enough attacking threat to give anyone a game.

They still have to host Al Hazem and Al Tai, while they return to action this week with an all-important match at Al Okhdood. Win that, and Al Raed will take a mighty step towards top-flight football next season. The side from Buraidah have history on their sides, having never been relegated from the RSL despite finishing in the bottom half in 11 of the past 15 seasons and even playing in relegation play-offs on two occasions.

Al Okhdood – 14th, 24 points

Experiencing life in the RSL for the first time, the Najran club will be determined to sample a second season also. They have, however, fallen on hard times of late, losing three and drawing one of their past four league matches.

What makes it even more disappointing for Al Okhdood is that they could not use that superb home win against Al Ahli last month as a springboard to moving up the table.

As it stands, they also have three victories from 10, with the 2-1 home defeat to Al Riyadh in Matchweek 22 especially costly. Martin Sevela’s men will therefore look to African pair Leandre Tawamba and Saviour Godwin (four goals apiece) to up their output for the run-in, and Alex Collado to create from midfield.

Al Okhdood will be eyeing this week’s home match with Al Raed as a must-win, particularly with league leaders Al Hilal up next. They still have to take on Abha and Al Hazem, before testing clashes with the likes of Al Nassr and Al Ettifaq precedes a possibly huge encounter at Al Tai on the final day.

Al Riyadh – 15th, 24 points

With their goal difference (-23) significantly worse than Al Raed’s (-8), Odair Hellmann’s side will be most aware of the situation below them.

Al Riyadh, one of the four promoted teams, have two wins from 10, and one in their past five, but in Andre Gray and Saleh Al Abbas, they have plenty of firepower. The pair have a combined 12 goals this season, with Al Abbas the third-highest Saudi Arabian scorer in the current charts (seven). Martin Campana, the vastly experienced Uruguayan goalkeeper, should prove pivotal, too.

Like the teams immediately above them, Al Riyadh resume the campaign this week against one of the bottom six – a home match with 17th-placed Abha. Trips to Al Shabab and Al Ettifaq follow, before another crucial home game, against Al Tai. The trip to Al Hazem, in Matchweek 32 also stands out.

Al Tai – 16th, 22 points

Currently two points from safety, the Ha’il side have scored fewer than the teams below them, averaging exactly a goal every game. Al Tai have one win from their past nine RSL outings, with six of those matches ending in defeat.

Laurentiu Reghecampf, the former Al Ahli and Al Hilal manager, is more used to matters at the opposite end of the table but will know he needs more from the likes of Virgil Misidjan and Andrei Cordea in attack (five goals in all), but he does have Bernard Mensah in fine form. The Ghanaian has 11 goals in 20 RSL appearances.

An away clash at Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr is probably not what the doctor ordered for their first match back, or the home games with Al Shabab and Al Taawoun immediately after. They do still have to face Al Riyadh and Al Raed, but both away, before what looks a massive final match at home to Al Okhdood.

Abha – 17th, 21 points

Pitso Mosimane was installed during the winter break with one target: keeping Abha in the RSL. The South African’s impact has been instant, with his new team holding high-flying Al Taawoun to a draw in his first game. A close-run defeat to Al Fayha followed, but Abha have picked up two wins and a draw from his five matches in charge.

While goals from their strikers have been hard to come by – Hassan Al Ali and Ahmed Abdu have two each – it is in defence that has cost them: with 59 conceded, Abha have the joint-worst defensive record in the division.

They return on Friday in a vital clash away to Al Riyadh, then have the less-than-simple challenge of entertaining Al Nassr. Trips to Al Okhdood and Al Hazem will be ringed on the calendar – the latter falls on the final day.

Al Hazem – 18th, 15 points

Of course, the Ar Rass club have the most difficult route to survival, since they languish six points below Abha. As you would expect, problems exist at both ends of the pitch, with 25 goals scored from 24 RSL matches, and 59 conceded.

Fortunately for Al Hazem, they have one of the league’s premier playmakers, in Toze. The influential Portuguese has seven goals and five assists this season, making him comfortably the team’s best attacker. Comoros forward Faiz Selemani is next best, with five goals and three assists.

The issue is, though, that Al Hazem have a solitary win in 14 league matches, and that came in Matchweek 16. Their next five don’t make for comfortable reading either, with Al Taawoun, Damac, Al Ittihad and Al Wehda to come. The clash against Al Raed falls away from home, although they do host Al Riyadh and Abha in two of the closing three weeks.