Al Shamal vs Al-Ittihad Predictions
Al Shamal and Al-Ittihad meet at Al Bayt Stadium in an AFC Champions League Elite contest.
Al Shamal have made a strong start to the new Qatar Stars League season, but the Saudi visitors arrive with more continental experience and an unbeaten domestic record.
BTTS and Over 2.5 Goals is my best bet on Monday.
Recent Stats Point to Goals
- Al Shamal have seen BTTS & Over 2.5 Goals in 6 of their last 7 matches
- Al-Ittihad have seen BTTS & Over 2.5 Goals in 4 of their last 5 matches
- Al-Ittihad have seen an average xG of 2.97 in their last 3 matches
First-Ever Meeting in Al Khor
Al Shamal and Al-Ittihad will meet for the first time in Monday's AFC Champions League Elite contest.
Al Shamal Extend Unbeaten Run
Al Shamal return to Al Bayt Stadium after picking up a 1-1 draw at Al-Wakrah in the Qatar Stars League on Thursday.
Pablo Mari headed the hosts in front in the 26th minute before Aissa Laidouni’s second-half goal ensured a share of the spoils.
Last week’s draw extended Al Shamal’s unbeaten run to five matches.
Recent results have been particularly high-scoring. Before Thursday’s 1-1 draw, they had previously beaten Al-Shahaniya 4-2 and Al-Gharafa 3-1, while also drawing 3-3 with Al-Rayyan and 2-2 with Al-Arabi.
Remarkably, 37 goals were scored in just seven games since the end of last season. Six of those matches finished with BTTS and over 2.5 goals scored, with all seven seeing both teams score.
The hosts are competing in the Asian Champions League for the first time in their history. Al Shamal secured qualification for Asia's top continental tournament with a second-placed finish in the Stars League last season.
Al-Ittihad Arrive Unbeaten
Al-Ittihad make the trip to Qatar with plenty of confidence after a 3-1 victory at Al-Faisaly on Friday. Steven Bergwijn opened the scoring before Youssef En-Nesyri bagged a brace to secure a somewhat flattering road win.
The hosts had their chances in an evenly balanced encounter. Al-Faisaly registered an xG of 1.11 from ten efforts on goal. Al-Ittihad fared slightly better with 12 shots, ensuring an xG total of 1.29.
Recent xG totals point towards another open contest on Monday. Their last three matches produced a combined xG of 8.91, averaging 2.97 xG per game.
Those numbers have been reflected in recent results. Fourteen of their last 17 matches finished with both teams on the scoresheet, while four of their last five games also saw over 2.5 goals scored.
Competing in this competition for a third successive season, Al-Ittihad reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Elite in the 25/26 campaign. An average of 3.87 goals per game were scored in their eight league phase fixtures.
Al Shamal vs Al-Ittihad Team News
Al Shamal: (4-2-3-1) Babacar Seck; Musab Khoder, Michel Termanini, Pablo Mari, Mowafak Awad; Nassim Benaissa, Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane; Alex Collado, Ali Asad, Fahad Waad; Wesley Said.
Al Shamal are expected to retain much of the XI that started the 1-1 draw with Al-Wakrah.
Wesley Said will spearhead the hosts’ attack on Monday. The French forward scored twice in Al Shamal’s recent 3-3 Qatar Stars Cup tie against Al-Rayyan.
Al-Ittihad: (4-3-3) Predrag Rajkovic; Muhannad Shanqeeti, Danilo Pereira, Hassan Kadesh, Faris Abdi; Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Dion Lopy, Richard Rios; Steven Bergwijn, Youssef En-Nesyri, George Ilenikhena
Al-Ittihad have no injury or suspension issues ahead of their trip to Qatar.
In-form forward Youssef En-Nesyri will lead the attack with support from George Ilenikhena. En-Nesyri has scored four goals in seven appearances this season.