Al-Ettifaq's first football team is preparing for a crucial and highly anticipated away match against Al-Najma, in the fourteenth round of the Roshan Professional League. The match is scheduled to take place at Al-Najma's stadium in Unaizah, where Al-Ettifaq will be looking to continue their positive run and strengthen their position in the league standings.
List of absences and their reasons
The Al-Ettifaq coaching staff, led by Saudi coach Saad Al-Shehri, faces a tough challenge this round, as three key players are confirmed to be unavailable due to suspension, injury, and tactical decisions to rest them. These absences force the coach to find suitable replacements to maintain the team's balance.
The first of these absences is that of player Fares Al-Ghamdi , who will be absent by disciplinary decision as a result of accumulating colored cards, after he received a yellow card in the team’s last match against Al-Akhdoud Club, which requires him to be suspended for one match according to the regulations of the Competitions Committee in the Saudi Professional League Association.
On the technical side, coach Saad Al-Shehri decided to exclude player Moha Nkota from the match squad in order to give him a period of rest and recovery. This decision comes after the significant physical exertion the player has undergone recently, particularly following his international participation with the South African national team in the Africa Cup of Nations. The coaching staff prefers not to risk him further to avoid muscle fatigue.
The third and most significant absence is that of striker Ahmed Hassan Kouka , who is sidelined with a serious injury sustained during the last match against Al-Akhdoud. Kouka left the field in tears, clearly affected by his injury, which has raised concerns among Al-Ettifaq fans about the duration of his absence and its impact on the team's attacking prowess in upcoming matches.
High morale despite the shortages
Despite these significant absences, Al-Ettifaq enters the match with high morale and great confidence, drawing strength from their valuable victory in the previous round. The team secured a 2-0 win against Al-Akhdoud at the Ejo Stadium, a victory that provided a significant morale boost for the players and coaching staff as they strive for further success.
The matches of the Roshan Professional League are gaining increasing importance round after round, in light of the intense competition between clubs to collect points and improve positions, which makes facing Al-Najma a real test of Al-Ettifaq’s ability to overcome the circumstances and the numerical disadvantage and return with the three points from Unaizah.
