The new edition of the Saudi Pro League (Roshn) kicks off on Thursday with a match between Al-Taawoun and its guest Al-Fayha. Meanwhile, Al-Nassr, who lost the Diriyah Super Cup final to Al-Hilal, hosts Al-Raed, and Al-Riyadh travels to Mecca to face Al-Wehda.
The competition resumes after an 87-day hiatus, with the last match of the previous edition being played on May 27th, which saw Al-Hilal crowned as the champions.
Al-Nassr, last season's runner-up and a three-time winner of the Saudi Pro League, is not in its best shape after suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat against its traditional rival Al-Hilal in the Diriyah Super Cup final last Saturday. This was followed by the resignation of its president, Ibrahim Al-Muhaydib, on Tuesday, less than two months after he assumed the position.
The team's coach, Portuguese Luis Castro, has retained his position, and Al-Nassr has only added Brazilian goalkeeper Bento Matheus and left-back Salem Al-Najdi from Al-Fateh to its squad.
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On the other hand, Al-Raed has enlisted Brazilian coach Odair Hellmann, who coached Al-Riyadh last season, and signed players Saleh Al-Amri and Zakaria Hawsawi from Al-Ittihad Jeddah.
Al-Raed and its neighbor Al-Taawoun were the only two teams to achieve victories on Al-Nassr's home ground last season, with Al-Raed winning 3-1 and Al-Taawoun 2-0.
Al-Taawoun, which finished fourth last season, enters the new edition under the leadership of Argentine coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena, whose start last week was not promising after losing 2-0 to Al-Nassr in the Diriyah Super Cup semi-finals.
Al-Taawoun has strengthened its ranks with Moroccan player Faisal Fajr, a former Al-Wehda player. Meanwhile, Al-Fayha will enter the match with a new coach, Greek Christos Kontis, who won the Greek Cup last season with Panathinaikos.
In the third match, Al-Wehda, which has signed German coach Josef Zinnbauer, former coach of Raja Casablanca and winner of the domestic double last season, will play against Al-Riyadh, who has appointed French coach Sabri Lamouchi as a replacement for Brazilian coach Hellmann, now with Al-Raed.
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