Our Roshn Saudi League (RSL) Fantasy 2025/26 team preview articles continue with Al Ettifaq.
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In these guides, we will evaluate the club’s previous campaign, give an update on summer friendlies, talk over transfers and outline some top of their best assets for 2025/26.
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Al Ettifaq in 2024/25
By finishing last season in seventh place, scoring 44 goals and conceding 45, this was an underachieving season. Fortunately, under coach Saad Al Shehri, the team improved significantly and results improved during the second set of matches, achieving nine wins, four draws and four losses.
Transfers
Al Ettifaq have made a few targeted additions in the transfer window, bringing in Costa Rican defender Francisco Calvo (5.0m) from Hatayspor and striker Ahmed Hassan (5.5m) from Le Havre, following four goal contributions from 16 games.
Additionally, attacking midfielder Ondrej Duda (5.5m) has arrived from Hellas Verona, while young South African winger Mohau Nkota (5.5m) comes in after seven goals and five assists for Orlando Pirates.
Time will tell whether these signings prove to be shrewd. But the club has certainly been frugal in their dealings, as the departures of Hamed Al Ghamdi (4.5m), Mohammed Abdulrahman (4.5m), Berat Ozdemir, Demarai Gray, Vitinho, Marcel Tisserand, Thamer Al Khaibri (4.5m) and more have caused a net transfer profit of almost €19m.
Could this mean there is potential for a few final additions before the transfer deadline?
You can find the updated list of all transfers on the official RSL website.
Pre-season
| DATE | MATCH | SCORE | GOALS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22nd July | Friendly | Al Ettifaq 2 – 2 Portimonense | Hendry, Al Kadi |
| 29th July | Friendly | Farense 5 – 1 Al Ettifaq | Albishi |
| 3rd August | Friendly | Al Sadd 0 – 0 Al Ettifaq | |
| 7th August | Friendly | Cadiz 1 – 1 Al Ettifaq | Calvo |
| 21st August | Friendly | Al Ettifaq 2 – 2 Al Khaleej | Al Otaibi, Calvo |
Winless throughout five friendlies, Al Ettifaq averaged over a goal a game, with Calvo netting twice and Al Otaibi once. As defenders, that should be encouraging, but conceding twice per match suggests being wary of their backline.
Fixtures + expected lineup
Al Ettifaq typically play with a 4-2-3-1 formation, although the high player turnover could precede some chopping and changing in regards to starting line-ups. Also, there will be a few notable absences in Round 1, such as Duda, Hassan and Ziyad Al Ghamdi (4.5m).
Their first five fixtures are a mixed bag, combining tough encounters against Al Ahli and Al Hilal with more favourable match-ups versus Damac and Al Taawoun. Match one is at home to mid-table Al Khalood, which should give us a better indication of where Al Ettifaq stand and how many of their assets we should be considering.
Top Al Ettifaq picks
On that note, there are some tantalising options. We’ve mentioned Francisco Calvo above who, based on friendlies, seems to offer a decent threat from the back, while his defensive colleague Radhi Al Otaibi offers a slightly cheaper alternative.
Georginio Wijnaldum (7.5m) needs very little introduction to European football fans. The Dutch midfielder delivered as expected last season, totalling 14 goals and five assists. He created seven big chances and also benefited from defensive points, averaging 3.6 ball recoveries per game.
New signing Mohau Nkota could be a budget surprise package, if the youngster can convert his South African league form, whilst Khalid Al Ghannam (4.5m) offers an even cheaper route into the Al Ettifaq attack. Due to a lack of wide players currently in their squad, the winger is expected to start.
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