Al Ittihad vs Orlando Pirates Match Preview: Kick-off, venue, squad news and how to watch the pre-season friendly in Spain

Abdeslam Ouaddou will be pleased with the performances of his new recruits and academy players who have remained unbeaten during their Spanish camp so far.

However, Al Ittihad will be a stern test of Ouaddou's new-look Pirates and with another friendly booked in against Las Palmas just 24 hours later, expect loads of rotations and heavy use of the unlimited substitutions.

Probable Pirates XI: Chaine, Chabatsane, Derbyshire, Hotto, Sebelebele, Makhaula, Masilela, Matome, Msendami, Moremi, Radiopane

The Saudi giants are coming off a difficult 2025/26 season that saw them switch coach three times as they failed to defend their league crown and slumped to a disappointing fifth placed finish in the Saudi Pro League.

That said, the Saudi's boast a combined squad value estimated at around €87.5 million (R1.6 billion) which completely dwarfs the resources available to Ouaddou.

New coach Jens Wissing has only been with the club for two weeks so is still very much in the 'getting to know you' phase of his tenure so will no doubt give as much of his squad a runout as he can.

Probable Al Ittihad XI: Rajkovic, Al Julaydan, Simic, Mitaj, Al Shanqiti, Pereira, Doumbia, Bergwijn, Aouar, Diaby, En-Nesyri.

These two sides have never met before so there's no head-to-head data. In their most recent results, their form looks like this:

Orlando Pirates: W D W W D

Al Ittihad: L L W W D

Orlando Pirates are coming off an historic season in which they won a domestic treble, including a first league title for 14 years, but are coping with a big squad overhaul that included losing star man Relebohile Mofokeng to Belgium Pro League side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

Al Ittihad, as previously described, had a very disappointing season and will be keen to turn their fortunes around and push on to challenge for the Saudi Pro League title.

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