{"id":3039,"date":"2026-01-03T02:43:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T02:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/?p=3039"},"modified":"2026-01-13T07:18:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T07:18:20","slug":"al-ittihad-vs-al-taawoun-conceicaos-resurgent-champions-face-saudi-pro-leagues-surprise-package-live-on-spotv-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/al-ittihad-vs-al-taawoun-conceicaos-resurgent-champions-face-saudi-pro-leagues-surprise-package-live-on-spotv-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Al Ittihad vs Al Taawoun: Concei\u00e7\u00e3o\u2019s Resurgent Champions Face Saudi Pro League\u2019s Surprise Package, Live on SPOTV NOW"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Al Ittihad vs Al Taawoun<\/strong><\/p>\n<style>\na {<br \/>    text-decoration: none;<br \/>    color: #464feb;<br \/>}<br \/>tr th, tr td {<br \/>    border: 1px solid #e6e6e6;<br \/>}<br \/>tr th {<br \/>    background-color: #f5f5f5;<br \/>}<br \/><\/style>\n<div><strong>Date:<\/strong> Saturday, 3 January 2026<br \/>\n<strong>Kick-off:<\/strong> 20:30 AST<br \/>\n<strong>Venue:<\/strong> Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah<br \/>\n<strong>Where to Watch:<\/strong> Live on SPOTV NOW<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When Sergio Concei\u00e7\u00e3o replaced Laurent Blanc as Al Ittihad head coach on October 7, 2025, the reigning champions were struggling for consistency. Three months later, the Portuguese tactician has steadied the ship and injected fresh belief into the squad.<\/p>\n<p>Al Ittihad enter Saturday\u2019s clash riding a wave of momentum, with <strong>four consecutive wins across all competitions<\/strong>. That run includes a King\u2019s Cup quarterfinal triumph over Al Shabab, an AFC Champions League victory against Nasaf, and back-to-back league wins over Al Shabab and Neom.<\/p>\n<p>During this purple patch, the Jeddah giants have scored <strong>10 goals while conceding just two<\/strong>, keeping two clean sheets along the way. Slowly but surely, the champions are climbing back up the table.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Karim Benzema has been pivotal, netting <strong>four goals<\/strong>, while Steven Bergwijn has chipped in with <strong>two goals and an assist<\/strong>. The duo will once again be the focal point of Al Ittihad\u2019s attacking threat.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qeOQPtCX4Ew?si=bMuGMO5ftzgSAMSI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Dominance in Possession:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Under Concei\u00e7\u00e3o, Al Ittihad have become the league\u2019s benchmark for ball control. They lead the Saudi Pro League in <strong>average possession (61.9%)<\/strong>, forcing opponents to chase shadows and limiting their attacking opportunities. This approach not only frustrates rivals but also drains them physically and mentally.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just sterile possession either. Al Ittihad top the charts for <strong>successful passes<\/strong>, averaging <strong>476 per match<\/strong>, showcasing their ability to build attacks methodically from the back and maintain structure without resorting to chaos.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about title ambitions, Concei\u00e7\u00e3o remained pragmatic:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe take each match as it comes. Our squad is ready\u2014starters and reserves alike\u2014and we aim to win every game. The real picture will emerge in the final rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>The Challenge Ahead:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Standing in their way is <strong>Al Taawoun<\/strong>, the season\u2019s biggest surprise package. Sitting third in the table, just <strong>three points behind leaders Al Nassr<\/strong>, they could go top with a win in Jeddah.<\/p>\n<p>Crucially, Al Taawoun hold an <strong>eight-point cushion over Al Ittihad<\/strong>, and their away form has been flawless\u2014<strong>five wins from five<\/strong>, the only team in the league with a perfect record on the road. They are unbeaten in their last five matches, winning four.<\/p>\n<p>For Al Ittihad, this is more than a test\u2014it\u2019s a statement game. To keep their resurgence alive, they\u2019ll need their very best against a side that has defied expectations all seas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Al Ittihad vs Al Taawoun Date: Saturday, 3 January 2026 Kick-off: 20:30 AST Venue: Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah Where to Watch: Live on SPOTV NOW &nbsp; When Sergio Concei\u00e7\u00e3o replaced Laurent Blanc as Al Ittihad head coach on October 7, 2025, the reigning champions were struggling for consistency. Three months later, the Portuguese &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/al-ittihad-vs-al-taawoun-conceicaos-resurgent-champions-face-saudi-pro-leagues-surprise-package-live-on-spotv-now\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Al Ittihad vs Al Taawoun: Concei\u00e7\u00e3o\u2019s Resurgent Champions Face Saudi Pro League\u2019s Surprise Package, Live on SPOTV NOW<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,5],"tags":[127],"class_list":["post-3039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-top-stories","tag-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3039"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3046,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3039\/revisions\/3046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}