Al Nassr and Al Ahli face contrasting tests in Saudi U21 league’s third round

The new season of the Jawwy Elite League – the Saudi Arabian Under-21 competition – continues on Sunday, with Al Nassr seeking a response against Al Fateh and Al Ahli aiming to maintain their perfect start away to Al-Jabalain.

The third round features several eye-catching fixtures, including meetings that could begin to shape the early title race and others carrying memories from last season.

Al Nassr travel to Al Fateh on Sunday, 6 September, with the match taking place at First Financing Field in Al Ahsa. On the same day, defending champions Al-Hazem visit Al-Fayha in Al Majma’ah.

Al Ahli face Al-Jabalain at Prince Abdulaziz bin مساعد bin جلوي Stadium in Hail, while leaders Al-Ettifaq visit Al-Qadsiah at Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium in Al Khobar.

The day’s programme ends with Al-Ittihad travelling to Al-Wehda at King Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Mecca.

Monday’s fixtures see newly promoted Al-Khaleej visit Al-Tadamon at Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin مساعد City Stadium in Arar. Another promoted side, Al-Faisaly, host Al-Najma at Al Majma’ah Sports City Stadium.

Al-Kholood and Al-Orobah meet in Al-Rass, while Damac entertain Al-Riyadh in Khamis Mushait. The round concludes later in the month when Al-Hilal visit Al-Taawoun in Buraidah.

Two matches have been postponed. Al-Watani’s meeting with Al-Ansar at King Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jazan will now be played on 21 December, while NEOM’s fixture against Al-Okhdood at King Khalid Sports City Stadium in Tabuk has been moved to 25 January next year.

Al Nassr seek response after last season’s humiliation

Al Nassr will play their second match of the new campaign against an Al Fateh side that inflicted a damaging defeat on them in last season’s quarter-finals.

Al Fateh won both legs, 4-1 and 3-2, completing a 7-3 aggregate victory. They went on to reach the final, where they lost 3-1 to Al-Hazem.

Al Nassr will therefore be targeting more than revenge. Victory would also move them clear of Al Fateh in the standings and give them a second successive win.

Their only match so far ended in a 4-0 victory over Al-Jabalain, placing them eighth on goal difference behind seventh-placed Al Fateh, who have already played twice.

Al Fateh, meanwhile, will attempt to recover from their 2-1 defeat by Al Ahli in the previous round. Home advantage could help them reproduce the form that carried them to last season’s final.

Al Ahli are also chasing a third straight victory when they travel to Al-Jabalain. They moved into second place with six points after beating Al Fateh, runners-up in the inaugural edition, 2-1 last time out. They trail leaders Al-Ettifaq only on goal difference.

Al-Jabalain will be looking to respond after suffering a heavy 4-0 loss to Al Nassr. That result left them 15th with three points, earned through a surprise opening-round victory over champions Al-Hazem.

Leaders Al-Ettifaq face first major test

Al-Ettifaq, who have six points, face their first demanding examination against Al-Qadsiah, semi-finalists in the previous edition.

The leaders began with a historic 10-1 victory over Al-Tadamon before beating Damac 2-0. However, both opponents were teams newly promoted or involved in last season’s relegation battle.

Al-Qadsiah started with a 3-1 win against Al-Khaleej but then suffered an unexpected 3-1 defeat by Al-Riyadh. They remain on three points in 11th place and could slide further if they fail to take anything from the leaders.

Al-Ittihad’s meeting with Al-Wehda is an opportunity for the visitors to rediscover their best form after an unconvincing opening to the season. They drew 0-0 with Damac in the first round – the only draw of the opening round – before recording a subdued 2-0 win over newly promoted Al-Tadamon, who had lost 10-1 to Al-Ettifaq the previous week.

Those results have left Al-Ittihad, known as “The Tigers”, sixth with four points. Al-Wehda are 13th on three points after opening with a 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh before losing 1-0 to Al-Khaleej.

Unbeaten Al-Hilal meet strong Al-Taawoun defence

Al-Hilal face arguably the toughest assignment among the leading clubs when they visit Al-Taawoun, who reached last season’s quarter-finals and were eliminated only on penalties.

Both teams have taken maximum points from their opening two matches. Al-Hilal are third and Al-Taawoun fourth, separated by goal difference.

Al-Hilal beat newly promoted Al-Faisaly 2-1 before overcoming Al-Kholood 2-0. Al-Taawoun defeated Al-Najma 2-0 and then edged Al-Orobah 1-0.

Their defensive record makes the fixture particularly challenging for Al-Hilal. Al-Taawoun are one of only two teams, alongside Al-Ittihad, yet to concede after two matches.

The opening two rounds produced 21 matches, with 19 ending in wins. The exceptions were Al-Ittihad’s goalless draw with Damac and a 1-1 draw between Al-Najma and NEOM.

A total of 62 goals have been scored, close to three per game. Al-Ettifaq have the league’s strongest attack with 12 goals, while Al-Tadamon have conceded 12 in two matches, the weakest defensive record.

Damac, Al-Okhdood, Al-Kholood, Al-Orobah and Al-Ansar are yet to score. Individually, Al-Ettifaq’s Mohamed Al-Essa leads the scoring charts with five goals, followed by Al Ahli’s Ziyad Eba and Al Fateh striker En Ras on four each.

The Saudi Jawwy League is available to watch via stc tv.