Comments and predictions for Al Shabab vs Al Ittihad: Two times leading but still empty-handed

Latest Al Shabab vs Al Ittihad force information

Al Shabab continue to be without Seung-Gyu Kim, who has been without a cruciate ligament injury since October last year.

Fahad Al Muwallad remains doubtful with a chest problem, while Mohamed Al-Thani will also continue to be absent with a muscle injury.

Abderrazak Hamdallah is expected to return to lead the attack after serving a one-match suspension. The striker has scored 21 goals this season and is aiming to finish as the top scorer, just two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Al Ittihad striker Karim Benzema – who also has 21 goals – is level with Hamdallah in the scoring charts, but his availability remains uncertain after missing the last game.

Hasan Kadesh has been confirmed with a muscle injury and is unlikely to return before the end of the month.

Al Ittihad will likely continue to use the familiar 4-5-1 formation, with central midfield pair N'Golo Kante and Fabinho ensuring balance, Houssem Aouar playing the main creative role, and Steven Bergwijn providing pace and attacking power on the wings.

However, with the title already won, coach Blanc can rotate the squad to give opportunities to reserve players.

Latest predicted lineup for Al Shabab vs Al Ittihad

Al Shabab:
Bushchan; Al-Sharari, Al Shwirekh, Hoedt, Renan; Kamara, Guanca, Al Juwayr; Camara, Hamdallah, Carrasco

Al Ittihad:
Rajkovic; Shanqeeti, Al-Amri, Pereira, Mitaj; Kante, Fabinho; Alobud, Aouar, Hernandez; Bergwijn

Latest football commentary Al Shabab vs Al Ittihad

Al Ittihad won their 10th Saudi Pro League title, despite a poor start at King Abdullah Sports City, where relegated Al Raed took a surprise ninth-minute lead through Oumar Gonzalez.

However, just like their previous away game, Laurent Blanc's side made a successful comeback. Steven Bergwijn and Danilo Pereira scored to give Al Ittihad the lead, before Abdulrahman Alobud sealed the win just two minutes after the break.

This was the fourth consecutive victory for the "People's Club", who have scored three goals in their last four matches, bringing their total points to 77. This achievement helped them officially win the championship two rounds early thanks to the advantage of facing second-placed team Al Hilal - a team that was then 9 points behind them and had not played round 31.

Having secured the top spot by six points, attention now turns to whether Al Ittihad will be given a guard of honour by their opponents Al Shabab in the next match. Al Shabab beat Al Ittihad 1-0 in the second leg last season, and also won 3-1 in the first leg this season.

However, Al Ittihad beat Al Shabab 2-1 earlier in the season, and they are on the verge of completing a league double against this opponent for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Notably, Al Shabab once refused to stand in a guard of honour for Al Ahli after winning the 2025 AFC Champions League, an action that has drawn criticism from the Saudi football community.

In that match, coach Fatih Terim's team won 3-1, ending a three-match winless streak and then went on to beat city rivals Al Riyadh by the same score.

Al Shabab currently have 57 points from 17 wins, 16 draws and nine losses, ensuring they finish the season in sixth place – unable to catch the team above them and also unable to be caught by the team below them.

This season has been a landmark one for Al Shabab, as they are on course for their highest points tally in 13 seasons, having already equalled their 2020-21 tally with two games remaining.

The capital club Riyadh also plays quite well at home, with 32 points after 16 matches, and will be confident of causing trouble for the champions.

Latest Al Shabab vs Al Ittihad score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Al Shabab vs Al Ittihadas follows:

• Sportsmole:Al Shabab 2-2 Al Ittihad

• WhoScore:Al Shabab 1-1 Al Ittihad
• Our newspaper predicts:Al Shabab 1-1 Al Ittihad

When and where to watch Al Shabab vs Al Ittihad live?

To watch the Al Shabab vs Al Ittihad match live in the Saudi Pro League at 1:00 a.m. on May 21, viewers can watch it on online sports channels. Wishing viewers happy football watching moments.