Firstly, there is the Al Qadsiah element looking to stay in touch in the quest for the Roshn Saudi League title, for which they need maximum points to keep the pressure on the three teams above them.
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Heading into the final round of matchday 27, Al Qadsiah is fourth, five points behind second place and 10 behind leader Al Nassr.
Then there is Julián Quiñones and his battle with Ivan Toney and Cristiano Ronaldo for the 2025-26 golden boot. He currently sits in joint second place with starter Ronaldo, both three behind Toney.
As for the derby, the powerful Mexican has an individual face to face with Georginio Wijnaldum; As a standout player and top scorer for Al Ettifaq, the latter represents Quiñones’ counterpart in Al Qadsiah’s fierce enemies on the east coast.
Of course, there’s also local bragging rights in a match Al Qadsiah hasn’t lost since 2020. Sunday at Dammam’s EGO Stadium offers the visitors a chance to do the double; Just over a month ago, in the rescheduled matchday ten match, Brendan Rodgers’ men outscored Saad Al Shehri’s team with four goals.
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And then there is an element that may go a little more unnoticed, even if it provides an interesting subplot for the clash, but also for the rest of the RSL season. That, curiously, is the battle of the goalkeepers: Koen Casteels, of Al Qadsiah, and Marek Rodak, of Al Ettifaq.
Both are still in the running for this year’s Golden Glove, the award given to the goalkeeper who keeps the most clean sheets in an RSL season. The pair have registered seven so far, behind Al Ahli’s Edouard Mendy (12), Al Nassr’s Bento (10) and Al Hilal’s Yassine Bono (nine).
For Casteels, the Belgian is looking to defend the award he won last season when he recorded an unprecedented 14 clean sheets.
And, although under Rodgers Al Qadsiah have been a little more open at the back, conceding the most goals of any of the top four teams (16), the reward has been at the other end. In the short time the attack-minded Northern Irishman has been there, he has scored more goals than any other team in the league (46).
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But Rodgers would certainly like to strengthen the defence, with Casteels and Al Qadsiah recording just one clean sheet in their last five RSL games. That probably irritates a team that had the best defensive record in the league last season.
So what better place to improve that record than against your provincial rivals?
Certainly, if Al Qadsiah can achieve a few more shutouts in the final eight rounds, he will increase his chances of retaining his latest title. Clearly, Casteels’ form – and his defense against him – will be crucial.
Meanwhile, Rodak is somewhat the in-form goalkeeper in the RSL, which sounds contradictory for a player who has conceded 44 goals this season.
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But, just as a clean sheet is not exclusively the result of a goalkeeper’s efforts, the same goes for goals conceded. It is the team’s defensive unit that is responsible for both.
So while Rodak might have conceded all those goals, he has also made more saves this campaign than any other custodian in the league, with 96. However, he is no less: the Slovak international also ranked second in that category last season.
Typically, goalkeepers from clubs at the bottom of the league tend to be the ones ranked highest in this category, because they tend to be the teams that give up the most chances.
Rodak, however, bucks that trend a bit, with Al Ettifaq sitting in seventh place heading into the final stretch of the season. Thanks in large part to their man between the sticks, they have aspirations of being in the top five at the end of the season.
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To reinforce the point, clean sheet leader Mendy is 17th in saves, with 33. That’s just over one per game, and almost 70 fewer than Rodak has made until 2025-26, when the latter has yet to play this round.
With Al Ettifaq facing 139 shots on goal, Rodak’s save percentage of nearly 70 percent is one of the best in the division, on par with Casteels (58 saves on 84 shots faced, or 69%).
But, like their neighbors to the east, if Al Ettifaq is to fulfill his end-of-season ambitions, he will need Rodak to continue playing his part. Averaging 3.7 saves per game, he should not fail by standards.
However, for more than 90 minutes on Sunday, all statistics and potential individual accolades will be put aside. Any personal goals should be put on hold.