OK.. so we'll get to see Roberto Firmino in action today, after his move to Saudi Arabia. And he made the move after 8 long years in Liverpool where he represented that club in 256 matches. Hopefully he will stay at Al Ahli for a similar duration. Fellow countryman Roger Ibañez will give him company at Al Ahli, along with other overseas players such as Franck Kessié, Ryad Boudebouz, Ezgjan Alioski and Allan Saint-Maximin. Al-Hazem on the other hand do have a few Brazilians in their squad (Paulo Ricardo, Bruno Viana and Vina de Souza).
From my point of view Al-Ahli has quite ideal players, unfortunately Al-Ahli is too focused on his front line players. unfortunately, they did not add a few more players for the midfield sector. thus, this team can compete with several other big clubs such as Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and even Al Hilal. but maybe they can keep up with the big teams, because they have front-line players who can be relied on enough. Firmino, Mahrez, Allan-Saint.
Referring to the tactics and schemes favored by the coach, Matthias Jaissle prefers the 4-3-1-2 pattern. So, with the available squad of players, will coach Al-Ahli continue to apply his favorite pattern? or, he will change the system to suit the players he has. ideally Al-Ahli plays a 4-3-3 pattern, because this suits the character of the players. or, 4-2-3-1. Firmino played as a forward, Mahrez and Allan Saint as wings and Kessie played as an attacking midfielder. at least, this pattern is quite effective from my point of view. the rest, are support players. So, to find out more, let's wait for this competition to start rolling out.