Orlando Pirates vs Al-Ittihad: Preview, prediction, tips

South Africa’s reigning Betway Premiership champions Orlando Pirates cross paths with Saudi Pro League heavyweights Al Ittihad at the Banús Football Center in Marbella on Tuesday, July 21, in what stands as one of the most compelling pre-season friendlies of the summer.

Both clubs arrive in the south of Spain at an intriguing crossroads: the Buccaneers fresh from a historic domestic treble and carrying the swagger of champions, while the Jeddah giants seek a clean break after a deeply frustrating 2025/26 campaign that left them embarrassingly adrift in mid-table and searching for new direction.

With Abdeslam Ouaddou and Jens Wissing both looking to prepare their respective squads for demanding new seasons, this encounter carries genuine meaning beyond the typical friendly-season formality.

Match Preview

Orlando Pirates enter this fixture as unquestionably the form side in South African football, and their confidence coming into the 2026/27 season is entirely warranted.

Ouaddou’s side made history in 2025/26 by clinching the Betway Premiership title for the first time in 14 years, ending Mamelodi Sundowns’ eight-year stranglehold on domestic football and bringing the club’s total top-flight crown count to 10.

That triumph was just one piece of a remarkable treble that also included the MTN8 and the Carling Knockout Cup, achievements that had not been managed in combination by any single PSL team before.

Across all 44 matches last season, Pirates recorded 32 wins and suffered just five defeats, a level of consistency that underscores just how thoroughly Ouaddou transformed the club from the moment he walked through the doors at Mayfair in June 2025.

The Buccaneers have wasted no time in getting their pre-season preparations underway, kicking off this Spanish tour with a 1-1 draw against Córdoba CF on July 15 before improving significantly to beat Cádiz 2-1 three days later.

Tshepang Moremi opened his pre-season account with a composed finish in the 11th minute against Cádiz before Daniel Msendami sealed the result just before the break, signs that the attacking department is functioning well despite a period of significant squad transition.

The challenge from Al Ittihad is of a very different order, however.

The Saudi giants boast a combined squad value estimated at around €87.5 million in their top attacking players alone, a figure that dwarfs the resources available to any Betway Premiership club and serves as a stark reminder of the quality that Ouaddou’s side must contend with on Tuesday.

Al Ittihad’s 2025/26 season was one to forget despite a stunning start to the previous campaign, when they had lifted the Saudi Pro League title for a 14th time.

The reigning champions opened 2025/26 with Laurent Blanc at the helm before the Frenchman was dismissed following a defeat to Al Nassr at the end of September.

Sergio Conceicao arrived from AC Milan in October 2025 on a two-year deal and initially steadied the ship, but the mid-season departure of Karim Benzema to arch-rivals Al Hilal in the January transfer window proved to be a turning point from which Al Ittihad never truly recovered.

They ended the season in fifth place with 55 points, a staggering 31 adrift of champions Al Nassr, and they were also eliminated from the AFC Champions League Elite at the quarter-final stage by Japanese side Machida Zelvia.

Conceicoo left by mutual consent in early June, and after a coaching search that reportedly cast its net over a number of high-profile European managers, the club ultimately moved for Jens Wissing, a choice that raised eyebrows but also generated considerable excitement given his remarkable early results in Japan.

Both sides play their next pre-season fixture shortly after this match, with Pirates facing Las Palmas on July 22 while Al Ittihad take on the same opponent on July 25, a scheduling quirk that will influence squad selection and rotation on both benches on Tuesday.

Head to Head

Tuesday’s match in Marbella is a historic occasion in the truest sense: it marks the very first time Orlando Pirates and Al Ittihad of Jeddah have ever met on a football pitch.

The clubs have no shared history in CAF competition, Saudi-South African promotional tournaments or any other official context, making this a genuinely groundbreaking first encounter.

It is worth noting for the record that Orlando Pirates did face a team called Al Ittihad in the 2021/22 CAF Confederation Cup group stage, but that club was Al Ittihad Tripoli of Libya, a completely separate institution with no connection to the Saudi organisation.

With no head-to-head history to draw upon, there is no psychological advantage for either side entering this fixture, and the outcome will be determined purely by what happens over the 90 minutes in Marbella.

This clean slate adds a layer of genuine curiosity to the occasion, with both clubs and their supporters getting a first look at how their team measures up against an unfamiliar but highly credentialed opponent.

Team News

Orlando Pirates

The most significant departure from Mayfair this summer is that of crowd favourite Relebohile Mofokeng, who joined Belgian Jupiler Pro League side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise after his outstanding debut PSL season.

Sipho Mbule, Bandile Shandu, Thabiso Lebitso, Gilberto and Karim Kimvuidi have also departed, leaving Ouaddou with a significantly revamped group to bed in before the new Betway Premiership season gets underway in August.

The club has moved decisively to plug the gaps, bringing in seven new players: Mthetheleli Mthiyane from Stellenbosch FC, Sbangani Zulu from Richards Bay, and a quartet of former Siwelele players in Bohlale Ngwato, Ghampani Lungu, Neo Rapoo and Aphiwe Baliti, with Siyanda Ndlovu also signing.

Oswin Appollis remains the crown jewel of the Pirates squad, but his future is clouded by strong reported interest from Portuguese giants FC Porto, making each pre-season appearance something of an audition for both club and potential suitors.

Patrick Maswanganyi is expected to step into a more central creative role in the absence of Mofokeng, while Evidence Makgopa, who spurned a strong chance against Cádiz, will be determined to make his case for a starting berth up front.

The scheduling reality is key here: with Las Palmas following on July 22, Ouaddou will almost certainly rotate his squad heavily against Al Ittihad, giving new signings and fringe players significant minutes rather than risking his first-choice starters in a non-competitive fixture.

Predicted Orlando Pirates XI (4-2-3-1): Siyabonga Dladla; Kamogelo Sebelebele, Nkosikhona Ndaba, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Tapelo Xoki; Andre de Jong, Thalente Mbatha; Tshepang Moremi, Patrick Maswanganyi, Oswin Appollis; Daniel Msendami.

Al Ittihad

Jens Wissing arrived at King Abdullah Sports City with barely two weeks on the clock before this pre-season trip began, meaning Tuesday’s match against Pirates is as much a first opportunity for the new manager to assess his squad in a live setting as it is a fitness exercise.

Predrag Rajkovic will be the expected starting goalkeeper, having been the undisputed first choice throughout a difficult 2025/26 campaign in which he played every league minute.

Defensively, Mario Mitaj, Muhannad Al Shanqiti and Hassan Kadesh provide the spine of a back four that will need significant work under the new regime, given the positional inconsistencies that plagued the team last term.

The attacking quality at Wissing’s disposal is genuinely eye-catching: Moussa Diaby, who registered four goals and seven assists in 31 league appearances despite an inconsistent team around him, is one of the most dangerous wide forwards outside Europe’s top five leagues.

Youssef En-Nesyri demonstrated his clinical instinct last season with six goals in just 13 league appearances, and the Moroccan international will fancy his chances against a Pirates defence still finding its feet under new signings.

Houssem Aouar was Al Ittihad’s top league scorer last season with eight goals, providing a creative and goal-scoring presence in the number 10 role that will be central to how Wissing sets the team up.

Steven Bergwijn brings Premier League experience and European pedigree to the right side of the attack, while Danilo Pereira’s physicality and reading of the game provides the anchor the midfield needs.

There are transfer clouds over the squad: Diaby has attracted significant European interest and a summer sale remains possible, while the club has also been linked with French defender Ibrahima Konaté as they look to shore up at the back.

Predicted Al Ittihad XI (4-2-3-1): Predrag Rajkovic; Ahmed Al Julaydan, Jan-Carlo Simic, Mario Mitaj, Muhannad Al Shanqiti; Danilo Pereira, Mahamadou Doumbia; Steven Bergwijn, Houssem Aouar, Moussa Diaby; Youssef En-Nesyri.

The Managers

Abdeslam Ouaddou is the architect of one of the most successful single seasons in Orlando Pirates’ storied history, and he arrives at this pre-season encounter as one of the most in-demand coaches in African football.

The 47-year-old Moroccan played at the highest level for his country, earning 60 international caps and making a name for himself during spells in France, Greece and Qatar before moving into management.

His coaching journey took him through Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco and a four-month stint at Marumo Gallants in the PSL before he was appointed at Pirates on June 23, 2025, replacing the departing Jose Riveiro.

What Ouaddou achieved in that debut campaign defied almost every expectation: the treble of Betway Premiership, MTN8 and Carling Knockout Cup, delivered at a rate of 32 wins from 44 matches and just five defeats, is unprecedented in the PSL era.

His philosophy is built on tactical discipline, defensive solidity, rapid transitions and set-piece threat, a system that proved near-impossible for opponents to crack consistently over the course of a full campaign.

Jens Wissing is one of the most fascinating managerial appointments anywhere in world football this summer, and his arrival at Al Ittihad at just 38 years of age after fewer than seven months of senior head-coaching experience represents a gamble that is entirely supported by his results.

The German was appointed as head coach of J1 League side Gamba Osaka in January 2026, having previously served as assistant under Roger Schmidt at PSV Eindhoven and SL Benfica, and under Thomas Letsch at Red Bull Salzburg, accumulating an impressive range of European and continental experience.

In just six months at Gamba Osaka, he delivered the AFC Champions League Two trophy, defeating Al Nassr 1-0 in the final, a result that not only announced him to the world of football but also drew the attention of a Saudi club desperate to reset after a demoralising 2025/26 season.

Al Ittihad signed him on a two-year deal through to June 2028, backing the 38-year-old’s preferred 4-2-3-1 framework and his reputation for high-intensity, organised pressing football to deliver a return to the domestic summit.

The fact that his tenure in Marbella is only a matter of days old makes Tuesday’s match against Pirates as much an assessment exercise for Wissing as it is a fitness drill for his players.

Tactical Preview

The tactical eye-catch of this match is that both managers have aligned on identical preferred systems: the 4-2-3-1, with a high-energy press, compact defensive shape and dynamic wide attackers at its core.

For Ouaddou, the system proved so effective last season partly because of the intelligence of his double pivot, where Andre de Jong’s calmness and range of passing complemented Thalente Mbatha’s energy and work rate to give Pirates a genuine midfield platform in every match they played.

The loss of Mofokeng from the number 10 position is a significant tactical problem that this pre-season tour is specifically designed to address, with Patrick Maswanganyi the most likely candidate to step up into that role and Tuesday’s match a genuine opportunity to trial that switch under real match conditions.

Ouaddou will also be eager to see his wide attackers, Appollis on the left and Moremi on the right, operate against Al Ittihad’s full-backs, with both South African wingers capable of exposing an inexperienced defensive unit still learning a new manager’s shape.

For Wissing, the priority in this first fixture is likely to be establishing the press and the defensive structure rather than expecting fluent attacking combinations from a squad that has worked together under him for barely two weeks.

Danilo Pereira and Mahamadou Doumbia will be asked to control the midfield and set the tempo as the more experienced pair in Wissing’s preferred double pivot, giving Aouar the freedom to operate in advance of them without defensive burden.

The most dangerous weapon Al Ittihad can deploy is the movement of En-Nesyri between the lines, using his pace and clever runs to drag Pirates’ central defenders out of position and create space for Diaby and Bergwijn to exploit in behind.

Pirates’ vulnerability in pre-season matches, particularly those scheduled on consecutive days, lies in the back four’s cohesion: with new signings integrated across the defensive line, the risk of communication errors and positional gaps is heightened, and Al Ittihad’s front four are precisely the kind of technically gifted players who will make the most of any hesitation.

Conversely, if Ouaddou starts Appollis and Moremi and both find form, Al Ittihad’s full-backs could be under significant pressure from direct runners who offer width and pace, potentially exposing a defensive unit that gave up 47 league goals last season.

Prediction

This is a match with two distinct narratives pulling in opposite directions: Pirates are in-form, organised and playing with the confidence of treble winners, while Al Ittihad possess individual quality that represents a step up in class from anything Pirates faced in the Betway Premiership last season.

The decisive factor is likely to be squad depth and the scheduling context.

Ouaddou will rotate significantly ahead of the Las Palmas fixture just 24 hours later, meaning Al Ittihad are unlikely to face the full-strength version of the treble-winning Pirates side.

Wissing, conversely, may well start his strongest available combination as he uses this as his first real assessment of where his players stand, giving the Saudi outfit an advantage in terms of applied quality.

With En-Nesyri’s clinical edge, Diaby’s pace down the left and Aouar’s creativity through the middle, Al Ittihad are equipped to break down even a well-organised Pirates defensive structure, particularly in the opening stages before the match settles into a rhythm.

Pirates will score: they have found the net in both pre-season matches and their wide attacking quality is more than capable of punishing an Al Ittihad back four still adapting to a new manager’s defensive principles.

But the overall quality of the Saudi side’s starting lineup, combined with the likelihood of heavy Pirates rotation, points toward Al Ittihad taking the win.