Football Manager has been used to simulate the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League season, with big spenders Al Hilal being crowned champions by the smallest of margins.
We are just days away from the opening game of this season's SPL campaign – a clash between Al Ahli and Al Hazm at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah – and anticipation is high following a summer of big arrivals.
Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marcelo Brozovic will feature for their respected teams in the coming days, as will Roberto Firmino, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Alex Telles.
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Al Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard will also make his Saudi Pro League bow on Sunday, when he comes up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, who play their football for last season's runners-up Al Nassr.
But who will come out on top come the end of the campaign? Ahead of this weekend's fixtures, we have decided to simulate the entire 30-game season to find out.
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As you can see from the screenshot above, Al Hilal were predicted to finish top after a summer spending spree featuring Malcom, Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Al Nassr, who have also strengthen their first-team squad with the additions of Sadio Mane, Seko Fofana and Marcelo Brozovic, came in third with 9/4 odds while reigning champions Al Ittihad were predicted to come third.
Al Ittihad clinched the Saudi Pro League title for the first time since 2009 in May following a 3-0 win over Al Feiha but Nuno Espirito Santo's narrowly miss out on this Football Manager save.
In fact, the team that will feature Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante will finish just one point behind eventual winners Al Hilal, who lost just four games throughout the campaign.
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Here is a screenshot of the final league table.
In terms of top goalscorers, this Football Manager save suggests Al Ettifaq forward Moussa Dembele will be crowned the Golden Boot winner alongside Al Hilal striker Moussa Marega after scoring 16 goals in 30 games.
Riyad Mahrez also found the net on a regular basis. The former Manchester City striker, who completed a £30 million transfer to join Al Ahli in July, bagged 15 goals in 26 appearances for Marcel Koller's side.
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Allan Saint-Maximin, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and former Celtic forward Jota all feature in the top 10, as seen below.
Al Hilal midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who joined the club from Lazio this summer for £34 million, was the highest rated player with an average rating of 7.60.
Jota and Karim Benzema also performed admirably with 7.54 and 7.46 ratings respectively, while Sadio Mane [7.50] and Cristiano Ronaldo [7.37] starred for Al Nassr.
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Who do you think will win the Saudi Pro League this season?
Let us know in the comments.
Jack Kenmare