Al-Ittihad vs Al-Raed. Are Benzema and company tired?

On Thursday, January 16, the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah will host a match between Al-Ittihad and Al-Raed as part of the 15th round of the Saudi Arabian League.

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• Al-Ittihad vs Al-Raed facts
• Odds
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Al-Ittihad vs Al-Raed

Al-Ittihad

Laurent Blanc's men have slowed down a bit after a solid run at the end of the previous calendar year. Despite Al-Ittihad having a winter break, it seems that Karim Benzema and company are a bit "exhausted". Although it is possible that this impression, which arose against the backdrop of the failure in the last round in the game with relegation fighters Al-Feiha (1:1 draw), is caused by the fact that Al-Ittihad spent too much energy on the previous match - in the cup with Al-Hilal.

Nevertheless, Blanc's charges have lost their sole leadership, and now they share 1-2 places with Al-Hilal, losing to the current champion on additional indicators. And judging by the calendar, it is definitely not worth counting on "gifts" from competitor Benzema and company until February. And that means they need to carefully score points themselves.

This will have to be done without injured forward Moussa Diaby. Well, and it is certainly worth improving the penalty implementation. If in the national cup against Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad implemented 11-meter penalties accurately, then in the championship game during the match the team "missed" from the spot twice.

Al-Raed

The problems of the team of Brazilian coach Odair Elmann have been going on since the end of last year, when Al-Raed suffered two defeats in a row – from Al-Taawun (0:1) and Al-Hilal (2:3). At the beginning of 2025, the team achieved a difficult cup victory over a representative of the lower division – Al-Jabalain (on penalties after a 1:1 draw). However, then there was another failure in the Saudi league – a 0:2 home defeat to Damac. A strong team, but hardly superior in class to Al-Raed itself.

As a result, the team has already dropped to 12th place. It’s not that Al-Raed is in danger of relegation, but it’s high time to think about their results and take measures to improve them. After all, there are only 2 points left to the “relegated” 16th place. The density in this part of the table is simply off the charts!

Al-Ittihad vs Al-Raed facts

• Al-Ittihad are unbeaten in 13 matches in a row this season (11 wins and 2 draws in regular time)
• Al-Raed have lost 5 of their last 6 league matches
• Al-Raed have failed to score in 4 of their last 5 losses

Odds from download 1xbet

In the bookmaker's office 1xbet, the favorite of the match of the championship of Saudi Arabia is considered to be the team Al-Ittihad, on whose victory you can bet with the coefficient of 1.17. A bet on a free bet from 1xbet on a draw in this match will be accepted with the coefficient of 7.40, and the probability of victory of the guests - Al-Raeda, is estimated with the coefficient of 12.00. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

Karim Benzema and company must make up for the slip-up in the last round and play more disciplined and collected against an opponent in crisis. It is unlikely that Laurent Blanc will allow his charges to be lax in front of their goal against the backdrop of a difficult and tense tournament situation, and therefore we will assume that the favorite will win by more than one, or even two goals. Our prediction for Al-Ittihad - Al-Raed is a victory for the hosts with a handicap 1 (-2) with a coefficient of 1.89.