French coach Laurent Blanc of Al-Ittihad has decided to delay the choice of his team's starting goalkeeper until the last moments before the match against Al-Akhidood on Saturday in the first round of the Roshan Saudi League.

Blanc is weighing between Mohammed Al-Absi and Osama Al-Marmash to choose one of them to lead the Tigers' goal as they begin their defense of the league title, amidst great anticipation from the fans.

Al-Ittihad is suffering from the absence of Hamid Al-Shanqeeti, who is with the Saudi U-20 national team in a training camp in Sao Paulo in preparation for the Chile World Cup, in addition to the absence of Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic due to a tear in a tendon near the right thigh muscle.

Mohammed Al-Absi joined Al-Ittihad from Al-Shabab this summer and has played seven matches with the capital team, during which he conceded 10 goals, while keeping a clean sheet in four matches.

As for Osama Al-Marmash, he has not yet participated with the first team, according to the global website 'Transfer Market', and hopes to convince the coaching staff to include him in the upcoming match.

Al-Ittihad will continue its preparations on Friday at the club's main stadium before heading to Najran to face Al-Akhidood in the opening of the Roshan League, focusing on enhancing the team's readiness.