Inaction will test Al-Ittihad nerves, while Al-Hilal sharpen up in AFC Champions League

LONDON: Can a team that has won 14 out of the last 16 league games be feeling a little uncertain about the coming weeks? We may be about to find out.

Al-Ittihad may be closing in on a first title since 2009, but it has not been a great week for the Saudi Professional League leaders. A couple of recent off-pitch issues have been joined by an on-pitch wobble, the first in several months.

Once trophies have been lifted, such weeks are invariably looked back on as blips that inevitably occur over the course of a long season. But when the outcome is yet to be decided, it is understandable if there are a few nerves.

The week began with a television announcement that star winger Fahad Al-Muwallad is being investigated by the Kingdom’s Anti-Doping Committee amid reports that he failed a drug test.

If confirmed, it would not be the first time the international forward, who plays regularly for the national team, has failed an out-of-competition test. In 2019, he was hit by a one-year ban. That may not happen this time, but the 27 year-old will not play while the issue is being investigated.

Al-Muwallad was absent on Monday and missed a shock defeat in the semifinal of the King’s Cup at the hands of Al-Feiha. On another day, the Tigers, who dominated possession, would have won that game and be looking forward to a May final and a possible — and impressive — double. 

For a team that has been so dominant in the league, it was a rare setback. The double is no longer on, and some would say that being forced to concentrate on the league is exactly what the Jeddah giants need as they seek to end a 13-year title drought. But that may not be the case.

The problem is that while the Tigers can rest, there have not been that many