Al Taawon vs Al-Nahda Prediction

Contrasting recent runs

Al Taawon's last 20 matches make for grim reading: just three wins against ten defeats, with 31 goals conceded against 19 scored. Their recent results in the Saudi Pro League include heavy defeats to strong sides, though they did find a win over Al-Rayyan in continental competition.

Al Taawon: 20 completed matches; Al-Nahda: 20 completed matches.

Al Taawon

20 matches

Win

15% 3 / 20

Draw

35% 7 / 20

Loss

50% 10 / 20

Scored

19

Conceded

31

Difference

-12

Al-Nahda

20 matches

Win

50% 10 / 20

Draw

25% 5 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

27

Conceded

22

Difference

+5

Al-Nahda's record over the same number of games looks healthier, with ten wins, five draws and five losses. Their last five outings have brought three wins, a loss and a draw, including a 5-1 thrashing of Sur, suggesting they're scoring goals fairly freely at the moment.

Al-Nahda's recent form looks noticeably stronger than their opponents' on paper.

Comparative Team Statistics: Al Taawon vs Al-Nahda

Just the one meeting so far

These two have faced each other once this season, back in September, when Al-Nahda hosted Al Taawon and the game finished 1-1 in this same tournament. It was a close contest between sides who were still finding their feet in the group.

One match isn't much of a pattern, but it does show neither side ran away with it when they had home advantage, which is worth bearing in mind heading into the return leg.

Where things stand in the group

Al Taawon currently sit top of their group with four points from two games, having won one and drawn one. Al-Nahda are down in fourth place with just a single point from the same number of matches, having lost one and drawn one.

It's early days in this group stage, so these placings could shift quickly, but Al Taawon clearly have the better start on paper despite their patchy domestic form.

How this one might play out

Al Taawon's home form elsewhere hasn't been convincing, but their group position gives them something to hold onto. Al-Nahda, despite the better recent numbers, have shown they can be breached too, conceding in bunches against domestic rivals.

Given the drawn first meeting and the mixed signals from both camps, this looks like a fixture that could go either way rather than one side imposing itself clearly.