2019–20 Saudi Professional League
The 2019–20 Saudi Professional League is the 44th edition of the Saudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976. The season started on 22 August 2019 and will conclude on 9 September 2020.
Al-Nassr are the defending champions. The league was contested by the top 13 teams from the 2018–19 season as well as Abha, Damac and Al-Adalah, who joined as the three promoted clubs from the 2018–19 Prince Mohammad bin Salman League. They replace Ohod, Al-Batin and Al-Qadsiah who were relegated to the 2019–20 Prince Mohammad bin Salman League.
On 7 March 2020, the Ministry of Sports announced that all matches would be played behind closed doors until further notice. On 14 March 2020, the Ministry suspended all sports competitions indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. On 11 June 2020, the Ministry of Sports announced the resumption of sports activities with training starting on 21 June and games starting after 4 August 2020 and played behind closed doors. On 1 July 2020, the schedule for the remaining matches was released. It was announced that the league would resume on 4 August 2020 and end on 9 September 2020.
Changes
On June 9, 2019, the Saudi FF announced that the number of foreign players was reduced from 8 players to 7 players. In addition, they announced that clubs could no longer sign players on amateurs contracts and that the squad size will be increased to 30 players. On 20 August 2019, the Saudi FF announced that relegation play-off between the 14th placed team of the Pro League and the 4th placed team of the MS League was canceled.Teams
Sixteen teams will compete in the league – the top twelve teams from the previous season, the play-off winner and the three teams promoted from the MS League.
Teams who were promoted to the Pro League
The first team to be promoted was Abha, following their 2–2 draw away to Al-Nojoom on 30 April 2019. Abha will play in the top flight of Saudi football after a ten-year absence. Despite losing to Al-Qaisumah, they were crowned champions on 11 May 2019 due to Damac's 1–1 draw with Al-Ain.
The second team to be promoted was Damac, in spite of their 1–0 defeat away to Al-Tai, on 5 May 2019. Damac will play in the top flight of Saudi football for the first time since 1982 when both the Pro League and First Division were merged into one league.
The third and final team to be promoted was Al-Adalah, who were promoted on the final matchday following their 2–0 win at home against Damac on 15 May 2019. Al-Adalah will play in the top flight of Saudi football for the first time in history.
Teams who were relegated to the MS League
The first team to be relegated was Ohod, ending a 2-year stay in the Pro League following a 3–1 home defeat to Al-Fayha on 12 April 2019.
The second team to be relegated was Al-Batin, ending a 3-year stay in the Pro League following a 1–0 home defeat to an already relegated Ohod side on 11 May 2019.
The third and final team to be relegated was Al-Qadsiah, who were relegated on the final matchday following a 2–2 home draw with Al-Hazem. Al-Qadsiah were relegated after 4 consecutive seasons in the Pro League.
Stadiums
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Abha | Abha | Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium | |
| Al-Adalah | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | |
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | |
| 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-Fayha | Al Majma'ah | Al Majma'ah Sports City | |
| Al-Hazem | Ar Rass | Al-Hazem Club Stadium | |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Saud University Stadium | |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd International 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-Nassr and Al-Shabab also use Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium as a home stadium.
3: Damac play their home games in Abha.
Personnel and kits
- 1 On the back of the strip.
- 2 On the right sleeve of the strip.
- 3 On the shorts.
Managerial changes
Foreign players
On June 9, 2019, the Saudi FF announced that the number of foreign players was reduced from 8 players to 7 players.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 | Salim Boukhanchouche |  Amine Atouchi | Abdelali Mhamdi |  Firas Chaouat | Karim Aouadhi | Saad Bguir |  Faneva Andriatsima Reuben Gabriel |
| Al-Adalah |  Medwin Biteghé |  Savvas Gentsoglou | Carolus Andria |  Adama Traoré |  John Ogu |  Aliou Cissé | Sy Ass Mandaw | Abdelaziz Ali Guechi Aymen Mathlouthi Youssef Fouzai |
| Al-Ahli | Youcef Belaïli |  Lucas Lima | Souza |  Elvis Sarić |  Djaniny |  Marko Marin |  Omar Al Somah |  Danijel Aleksić Ervin Zukanović |
| Al-Ettifaq | Raïs M'Bolhi | Elierce Souza |  Cédric Yambéré | Walid Azaro | Souleymane Doukara |  Filip Kiss | Naïm Sliti | Rogerinho Oussama Haddadi |
| Al-Faisaly | Igor Rossi | Guilherme Augusto | Raphael Silva | William Alves |  Roly Bonevacia |  Youssef El Jebli |  Khaleem Hyland | Luisinho |
| Al-Fateh | Sofiane Bendebka |  Bashkim Kadrii | Marwane Saâdane | Mitchell te Vrede |  Gustav Wikheim |  Maksym Koval |  Matías Aguirregaray |  Michał Janota André Pinto Saša Jovanović Abdelkader Oueslati |
| Al-Fayha | Ângelo Neto |  Carlos Villanueva | Gegé |  Samuel Owusu |  Amer Shafi | Faneva Andriatsima | Arsénio | Rafael Assis Ronnie Fernández |
| Al-Hazem | Malik Asselah | Alemão | Jonathan Cafú | Muralha |  Karim Yoda | Driss Fettouhi |  Carlos Strandberg | Ernest Asante Ibrahima Tandia |
| Al-Hilal | Carlos Eduardo |  Gustavo Cuéllar | Bafétimbi Gomis |  Sebastian Giovinco |  André Carrillo |  Jang Hyun-soo | Omar Kharbin | |
| Al-Ittihad |  Leonardo Gil | Bruno Uvini | Marcelo Grohe | Romarinho |  Wilfried Bony | Karim El Ahmadi | Anice Badri | Emiliano Vecchio Jonas Carlos Villanueva Luis Jiménez Manuel da Costa Aleksandar Prijović |
| Al-Nassr |  Brad Jones | Giuliano | Maicon | Petros | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Nordin Amrabat | Ahmed Musa | |
| Al-Raed | Azzedine Doukha |  Arnaud Djoum | Ezequiel Palomeque | Marco Pérez | Jalal Daoudi | Mohamed Fouzair | Jehad Al-Hussain | |
| Al-Shabab | Djamel Benlamri | Cristian Guanca | Sebá | Danilo Asprilla | Farouk Ben Mustapha | Alfred N'Diaye | Makhete Diop | Somália Bubacarr Trawally |
| Al-Taawoun | Cássio | Nildo Petrolina | Sandro Manoel |  Cédric Amissi | Léandre Tawamba | Héldon Ramos | Ricardo Machado | |
| Al-Wehda | Craig Goodwin | Anselmo | Élton José | Luisinho | Renato Chaves | Youssouf Niakaté |  Alberto Botía | Moustapha ZeghbaMarcos Guilherme Khaled Adénon Emre Çolak |
| Damac | Ibrahim Chenihi | Farouk Chafaï | Moustapha Zeghba | Emilio Zelaya | Sergio Vittor | Bilel Saidani | Ghazi Ayadi | Chamseddine Rahmani Najib Ammari Jorge Fellipe Rafael Costa Aubin Kouakou Zezinho Mouhcine Iajour Zakaria Hadraf Babacar Sarr |
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 | Goals |
| 1 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr | 18 |
| 2 | Bafétimbi Gomis | Al-Hilal | 14 |
| 3 | Omar Al Somah | Al-Ahli | 13 |
| 4 | Youssouf Niakaté | Al-Wehda | 12 |
| 5 | Romarinho | Al-Ittihad | 11 |
| 5 | Carlos Eduardo | Al-Hilal | 11 |
| 7 | Carlos Strandberg | Al-Hazem | 9 |
| 8 | Carolus Andria | Al-Adalah | 8 |
| 8 | Saad Bguir | Abha | 8 |
| 8 | Anselmo | Al-Wehda | 8 |
| 8 | Giuliano | Al-Nassr | 8 |
| 8 | Cristian Guanca | Al-Shabab | 8 |
| 8 | Djaniny | Al-Ahli | 8 |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | |
| Ronnie Fernández | Al-Fayha | Al-Ittihad | 4–1 | 19 12 2019 | |
| Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr | Al-Fayha | 4–1 | 28 12 2019 | |
| Bafétimbi Gomis | Al-Hilal | Al-Adalah | 7–0 | 30 12 2019 | |
| Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr | Al-Shabab | 4–2 | 14 02 2020 |
Most assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Youssef El Jebli | Al-Faisaly | 11 |
| 2 | Driss Fettouhi | Al-Hazem | 9 |
| 3 | Nordin Amrabat | Al-Nassr | 8 |
| 4 | Sebastian Giovinco | Al-Hilal | 7 |
| 4 | Arsénio | Al-Fayha | 7 |
| 4 | Craig Goodwin | Al-Wehda | 7 |
| 4 | Saad Bguir | Abha | 7 |
| 4 | Luisinho | Al-Faisaly/Al-Wehda | 7 |
| 9 | Héldon | Al-Taawoun | 6 |
| 9 | Danilo Asprilla | Al-Shabab | 6 |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Brad Jones | Al-Nassr | 10 |
| 2 | Farouk Ben Mustapha | Al-Shabab | 8 |
| 3 |  Abdullah Al-Mayouf | Al-Hilal | 7 |
| 3 | Mustafa Malayekah | Al-Faisaly | 7 |
| 3 | Moustapha Zeghba | Al-Wehda/Damac | 7 |
| 6 | Raïs M'Bolhi | Al-Ettifaq | 6 |
| 7 | Cássio | Al-Taawoun | 5 |
| 8 | Azzedine Doukha | Al-Raed | 4 |
| 9 | Mohammed Al-Owais | Al-Ahli | 3 |
| 9 | Abdullah Al-Jadaani | Al-Wehda | 3 |
| 9 | Malik Asselah | Al-Hazem | 3 |
| 9 | Abdelali Mhamdi | Abha | 3 |
| 9 | Ali Al-Mazidi | Al-Adalah | 3 |
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 9
- * Anselmo
- Most red cards: 3
- * Mohammed Al-Saiari
Club
- Most yellow cards: 53
- * Al-Wehda
- Most red cards: 5
- * Al-Shabab
Attendances