The 2020–21 Saudi Pro League was the 46th edition of the top-tier Saudi football league, established in 1974, and the 13th edition since it was rebranded as the Saudi Pro League in 2008, the season began on 17 October 2020 as a consequence of the postponement of the previous season's conclusion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fixtures for the 2020–21 season were announced on 29 September 2020.
Overview Al-Hilal are the defending champions after winning the Pro League for the 16th time last season. Al-Ain, Al-Batin, and Al-Qadsiah join as the three promoted clubs from the 2019–20 MS League. They replace Al-Adalah, Al-Fayha, and Al-Hazem who were relegated to the 2020–21 MS League.
On 29 March, the Ministry of Sports announced that fans will be allowed to return to stadiums for the final three rounds of matches with a maximum of 40% capacity.
On 23 May, Al-Hilal secured their seventeenth league title with one match to spare following a 1–0 away win against Al-Taawoun. It was also the club's second consecutive title and fourth in the last five seasons. Al-Ain were the first team to be relegated following a 2–0 defeat away to Al-Nassr on 14 May. In the final matchday, both Al-Qadsiah and Al-Wehda were relegated following a draw with Abha and a loss against Al-Shabab respectively.
Teams
Sixteen teams will compete in the league – the top thirteen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the MS League.
Teams who were promoted to the Pro League
The first club to be promoted was Al-Batin, who were promoted following Al-Bukayriyah's 1–1 draw with Al-Ain on 1 September 2020. Al-Batin will play in the top flight of Saudi football after a season's absence. Al-Batin were crowned champions following their 1–1 draw with Al-Bukayriyah on the final matchday.
The second club to be promoted was Al-Ain, who were promoted on 10 September 2020 following their 2–0 win at home against Ohod. Al-Ain will play in the top flight of Saudi football for the first time in history. Al-Ain became the first team from the Al Bahah Region to play in the Pro League.
The third and final club to be promoted was Al-Qadsiah, following their 3–1 home win against an already promoted Al-Batin side on 10 September 2020. Al-Qadsiah will play in the top flight of Saudi football after a season's absence.
Teams who were relegated to the MS League
The first club to be relegated was Al-Adalah, who were relegated after only a year in the top flight following a 1–1 home draw with Al-Raed.
On 4 September 2020, Al-Hazem became the second club to be relegated following a 1–0 defeat away to Al-Shabab. Al-Hazem were relegated after two years in the top flight.
On 9 September 2020, Al-Fayha became the third and final club to be relegated following a 1–0 defeat away to Al-Taawoun in the final matchday. Al-Fayha were relegated after three years in the Pro League. This was Al-Fayha's first relegation from the top flight of Saudi football.
Stadiums Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. Team Location Stadium Capacity Abha Abha Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium Al-Ahli Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Al-Ain Al Bahah King Saud Sport City Stadium (Al Bahah) Al-Batin Hafar al-Batin Al-Batin Club Stadium Al-Ettifaq Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium Al-Faisaly Harmah Al Majma'ah Sports City Al-Fateh Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Hilal Riyadh King Fahd International Stadium Al-Ittihad Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Al-Nassr Riyadh King Saud University Stadium Al-Qadsiah Khobar Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Raed Buraidah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Al-Shabab Riyadh King Fahd International Stadium Al-Taawoun Buraidah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Al-Wehda Mecca King Abdul Aziz Stadium Damac Khamis Mushait Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium 1: Al-Faisaly play their home games in Al Majma'ah. 2: Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab also use Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (22,500 seats) as a home stadium.
Personnel and kits Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor 1 On the back of the strip. 2 On the right sleeve of the strip. 3 On the shorts.
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner ofdepartureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate ofappointment Al-Wehda Essa Al-Mehyani (caretaker)End of caretaker spell 9 September 2020Pre-season Ivo Vieira 10 September 2020 Al-Taawoun Abdullah Asiri (caretaker) 16 September 2020 Patrice Carteron 16 September 2020Al-Ain Al Habib Ben Ramadan End of contract 20 September 2020 Bruno Baltazar 2 October 2020 Bruno Baltazar Resigned 12 October 2020 Michael Skibbe 12 October 2020 Al-Nassr Rui VitóriaMutual consent 27 December 202015th Alen Horvat 27 December 2020 Damac Noureddine Zekri 4 January 202116th Krešimir Režić 12 January 2021 Al-Shabab Pedro CaixinhaSacked 5 January 20213rd Carlos Inarejos 5 January 2021 Al-Ain Michael Skibbe 28 January 202116th Pablo Machín 31 January 2021 Al-Wehda Ivo Vieira 2 February 202110th Mahmoud Al-Hadid 2 February 2021 Al-Hilal Răzvan LucescuMutual consent 15 February 20213rd Rogério Micale 15 February 2021 Al-Taawoun Patrice Carteron 11 March 20214th Nestor El Maestro 13 March 2021 Al-Batin José GarridoSacked 20 March 202113th Aleksandar Veselinović 24 March 2021 Al-Wehda Mahmoud Al-Hadid 21 March 202114th Georgios Donis 23 March 2021 Al-Ahli Vladan Milojević Mutual consent 24 March 20217th Laurențiu Reghecampf 31 March 2021 Al-Nassr Alen HorvatSacked 9 April 20215th Mano Menezes 9 April 2021 Al-Hilal Rogério Micale 2 May 20211st José Morais 2 May 2021
Foreign players The policy of foreign players remained unchanged. Clubs can register a total of seven foreign players over the course of the season.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window. Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Former Players Abha Mehdi Tahrat Benjamin Tatar Amine Atouchi Abdelali Mhamdi Carlos Strandberg Karim Aouadhi Saad Bguir Craig Goodwin Al-Ahli Elvis Sarić Lucas Lima Driss Fettouhi Alexandru Mitrita M'Baye Niang Ljubomir Fejsa Omar Al Somah Marko Marin Samuel Owusu Al-Ain Bastos Getterson Filip Bradarić Naeem Amadou Moutari Badou Ndiaye Juanpi Saphir Taïder Mohammed Nahiri Peter Nworah Haythem Jouini Al-Batin Fábio Abreu Renato Chaves Youssef El Jebli Mohamed Rayhi Xandro Schenk Martín Campaña Khaleem Hyland Al-Ettifaq Raïs M'Bolhi Elierce Souza Karol Mets Walid Azaro Souleymane Doukara Filip Kiss Naïm Sliti Al-Faisaly Guilherme Igor Rossi Raphael Silva Julio Tavares Romain Amalfitano Alexander Merkel Hicham Faik Al-Fateh Sofiane Bendebka Hillal Soudani Mourad Batna Marwane Saâdane Mitchell te Vrede Christian Cueva Maksym Koval Gustav Wikheim Saša Jovanović Al-Hilal Luciano Vietto Gustavo Cuéllar Bafétimbi Gomis Sebastian Giovinco Jang Hyun-soo André Carrillo Omar Kharbin Al-Ittihad Bruno Henrique Marcelo Grohe Romarinho Garry Rodrigues Ahmed Hegazi Karim El Ahmadi Aleksandar Prijović Bruno Uvini Al-Nassr Pity Martínez Brad Jones Maicon Petros Kim Jin-su Nordin Amrabat Abderrazak Hamdallah Ahmed Musa Al-Qadsiah Rhys Williams Edson da Cruz Danilo Asprilla Carolus Andria Leke James Stanley Ohawuchi Uroš Vitas Mihai Bordeianu Al-Raed Azzedine Doukha Ronnie Fernández Arnaud Djoum Marko Marin Karim El Berkaoui Mohamed Fouzair Nemanja Miletić Jalal Daoudi Nemanja Nikolić Jehad Al-Hussain Al-Shabab Éver Banega Cristian Guanca Sebá Igor Lichnovsky Odion Ighalo Fábio Martins Alfred N'Diaye Giedrius Arlauskis Makhete Diop Al-Taawoun Cássio Iago Santos Sandro Manoel Cédric Amissi Léandre Tawamba Kaku Abdoulaye Sané Mitchell Duke Al-Wehda Dimitri Petratos Anselmo Luis Gustavo Pedro Henrique Youssouf Niakaté Hernâni Alberto Botía Damac Farouk Chafaï Moustapha Zeghba Sergio Vittor Emilio Zelaya Domagoj Antolić Amahl Pellegrino Constantin Budescu Ibrahim Chenihi Cristian Lema Bilel Saidani
League table
Positions by round The following table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve the chronological evolution, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward. If a club from the Saudi Professional League wins the King Cup, they will qualify for the AFC Champions League, unless they have already qualified for it through their league position. In this case, an additional AFC Champions League group stage berth will be given to the 3rd placed team, and the AFC Champions League play-off round spot will be given to 4th.
Results
Season statistics
Scoring Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals1 Bafétimbi GomisAl-Hilal242 Emilio ZelayaDamac193 Cristian GuancaAl-Shabab17 Fabio AbreuAl-Batin5 Carlos StrandbergAbha16 RomarinhoAl-Ittihad7 Karim El BerkaouiAl-Raed15 Júlio TavaresAl-Faisaly9 Mitchell te VredeAl-Fateh13 Léandre TawambaAl-Taawoun
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Omar Al Somah Al-Ahli Al-Ain 4–3 (A) Dimitri Petratos Al-Wehda Al-Batin 3–2 (H) Carlos Strandberg Abha Al-Ain 4–2 (A) Léandre Tawamba Al-Taawoun Damac 3–1 (H) Karim El Berkaoui4 Al-Raed Damac 4–2 (H) Bafétimbi Gomis4 Al-Hilal Al-Ain 5–0 (A) Youssouf Niakaté Al-Wehda Al-Faisaly 4–2 (A) Mitchell te Vrede Al-Fateh Al-Ain 3–2 (H) Abdullah Al-Mogren Al-Raed Al-Ain 4–0 (H) Aleksandar Prijović Al-Ittihad Al-Qadsiah 4–1 (A) Romarinho Al-Ittihad Al-Wehda 4–2 (H) Bafétimbi Gomis Al-Hilal Al-Wehda 4–2 (A) Farouk Chafaï Damac Abha 4–3 (A) Danilo Asprilla Al-Qadsiah Al-Ettifaq 3–1 (A)
Notes (H) – Home; (A) – Away4 Player scored 4 goals
Clean sheets
RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 CássioAl-Taawoun112 Azzedine DoukhaAl-Raed7 Abdullah Al-MayoufAl-Hilal4 Marcelo GroheAl-Ittihad65 Brad JonesAl-Nassr5 Amin BukhariAl-Ain Zaid Al-BawardiAl-Shabab8 Mustafa MalayekahAl-Faisaly4 Abdelali MhamdiAbha Mohammed Al-RubeaiAl-Ahli Maksym KovalAl-Fateh Moustapha ZeghbaDamac
Discipline
Player
Most yellow cards: 12 Anselmo (Al-Wehda)
Most red cards: 2 Mohamed Fouzair (Al-Raed)
Club
Most yellow cards: 78 Al-Taawoun
Most red cards: 7 Al-Qadsiah
Awards Monthly awards MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthGoalkeeper of the MonthRising Star of the MonthReferenceManagerClubPlayerClubPlayer ClubPlayer ClubOctober Yannick FerreraAl-Fateh Éver BanegaAl-Shabab Abdullah Al-MayoufAl-Hilal Saud AbdulhamidAl-IttihadNovember Răzvan LucescuAl-Hilal Omar Al SomahAl-Ahli Amin BukhariAl-Ain Abdulelah Al-AmriAl-NassrDecember Khaled Al-AtwiAl-Ettifaq Naïm SlitiAl-Ettifaq Marcelo GroheAl-Ittihad Saud AbdulhamidAl-IttihadJanuary Alen HorvatAl-Nassr Léandre TawambaAl-Taawoun CássioAl-Taawoun Abdullah Al-HamdanAl-ShababFebruary Carlos InarejosAl-Shabab Éver BanegaAl-Shabab CássioAl-Taawoun Abdulrahman GhareebAl-AhliMarch Rogério MicaleAl-Hilal Farouk ChafaïDamac Raïs M'BolhiAl-Ettifaq Abdulelah Al-AmriAl-NassrApril & May Fábio CarilleAl-Ittihad Odion IghaloAl-Shabab Marcelo GroheAl-Ittihad Sami Al-NajeiAl-Nassr Team of the Season
Team of the Season Goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe (Al-Ittihad) Defenders Iago Santos (Al-Taawoun) Ahmed Hegazi (Al-Ittihad) Yasser Al-Shahrani (Al-Hilal) Midfielders Éver Banega (Al-Shabab) Romarinho (Al-Ittihad) Cristian Guanca (Al-Shabab) André Carrillo (Al-Hilal) Forwards Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal) Bafétimbi Gomis (Al-Hilal) Carlos Strandberg (Abha)
References