Finally Saudi Pro League will be started today and for opening match there is Al-Raed vs Al-Ittihad and this is debut match for Al Ittihad new players such as Milinković-Savić, Kante and their new forward player Benzema but Al Ittihad recent performance is not really good because they were lose from Al Hilal at Arab Club Champions Cup and about their opponent i am not really sure about Al-Raed but possibly this team will be categorized as mediocre team in this league because last season Al-Raed only finish at 10th place and gets 14 loses
If we see from head to head statistics actually Al Hilal is not too superior from Al-Raed because previously Al-Raed can able to stole points from them several times but if we see from the odds seems the bookie very confident to placed Al Hilal as the favourite with low odds @1.23 and Al-Raed as underdog status with odds @9.40
I will not doubt Al Ittihad to overthrow the home team in this match. because after all, the two teams have a significant gap. AL Raed FC is a mediocre team in the Saudi Pro League competition, they were only able to finish 10th last season. speaking of head to head meetings between these two teams, out of 10 meetings in this competition, AL Raed was only able to win 1 match, and even then in the 2018 season, the rest were either defeats or draws. now Al Ittihad has been strengthened by several of Europe's top players, Benzema and his friends are quite ready to overthrow their opposing team at AL Raed's own base.
Moreover, if we refer to the odds of these two teams. Al Ittihad with odds @1.22, while AL Read with odds @9.60. referring to the available odds, theoretically Al Ittihad should be able to topple the opposing team easily. but don't be surprised, if AL Read will play with a defensive pattern. with the scenario, they are targeting the fight to end in a draw.
talking about the defeat of Al Ittihad to Al Hilal in the Arab Club Campions Cup, I think these two teams have almost the same level. also, Al Hilal was the strongest rival before these clubs were acquired by PIF. Moreover, this match was Benzema's debut with Al Ittihad, it is only natural that he did not play with his best performance. well, in this match Benzema had to prove his sharpness to break into the opposing team's goal. Gaining full points in the first match of the Saudi Pro League, became a mandatory result for Al Ittihad.