| Competition: | Professional League |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| Dates: | 17 October 2020 – 30 May 2021 |
| Winners: | Al-Hilal (17th title) |
| Relegated: | Al-Qadsiah Al-Wehda Al-Ain |
| Continentalcup1: | AFC Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Al-Hilal Al-Faisaly Al-Shabab Al-Taawoun |
| Continentalcup2: | UAFA Club Championship |
| Matches: | 240 |
| Total Goals: | 746 |
| League Topscorer: | Bafétimbi Gomis (24 goals) |
| Best Goalkeeper: | Cássio (11 clean sheets) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (20 March 2021) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (9 February 2021) |
| Highest Scoring: | (7 November 2020) (5 December 2020) (28 February 2020) (20 March 2021) (21 March 2021) (25 April 2021) (14 May 2021) (30 May 2021) |
| Longest Wins: | Al-Hilal (5 matches) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | Al-Ittihad (11 matches) |
| Longest Winless: | Al-Ahli Al-Raed (9 matches) |
| Longest Losses: | Al-Ahli Al-Wehda (7 matches) |
| Prevseason: | 2019–20 |
| Nextseason: | 2021–22 |
| Updated: | 30 May 2021 |
The 2020–21 Saudi Professional League was the 45th edition of the Saudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976. 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.[1] Fixtures for the 2020–21 season were announced on 29 September 2020.[2]
Al-Hilal are the defending champions after winning the Pro League for the 16th time last season.[3] Al-Ain, Al-Batin, and Al-Qadsiah join as the three promoted clubs from the 2019–20 MS League.[4] 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. [5]
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.[6] Al-Ain were the first team to be relegated following a 2–0 defeat away to Al-Nassr on 14 May.[7] In the final matchday, both Al-Qadsiah and Al-Wehda were relegated following a draw with Abha and a loss against Al-Shabab respectively.[8]
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.[9] Al-Batin were crowned champions following their 1–1 draw with Al-Bukayriyah on the final matchday.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]
On 4 September 2020, Al-Hazem became the second club to be relegated following a 1–0 defeat away to Al-Shabab.[14] 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.[15] 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.
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abha | Abha | Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium | [16] |
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | |
| Al-Ain | King Saud Sport City Stadium (Al Bahah) | [17] | |
| [18] | |||
| Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium | [19] |
| Al-Faisaly | Harmah | ||
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | [20] [21] |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | ||
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Saud University Stadium | |
| Al-Qadsiah | Khobar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | [22] |
| 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 | |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Wehda | Essa Al-Mehyani (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | 9 September 2020 | Pre-season | Ivo Vieira | 10 September 2020[23] |
| Al-Taawoun | Abdullah Asiri (caretaker) | 16 September 2020 |  Patrice Carteron | 16 September 2020[24] | ||
| Al-Ain |  Al Habib Ben Ramadan | End of contract | 20 September 2020 | Bruno Baltazar | 2 October 2020[25] | |
| Bruno Baltazar | Resigned | 12 October 2020[26] | Michael Skibbe | 12 October 2020 | ||
| Al-Nassr | Rui Vitória | Mutual consent | 27 December 2020[27] | 15th | Alen Horvat | 27 December 2020[28] |
| Damac | Noureddine Zekri | 4 January 2021[29] | 16th | Krešimir Režić | 12 January 2021[30] | |
| Al-Shabab | Pedro Caixinha | Sacked | 5 January 2021[31] | 3rd |  Carlos Inarejos | 5 January 2021 |
| Al-Ain | Michael Skibbe | 28 January 2021[32] | 16th | Pablo Machín | 31 January 2021[33] | |
| Al-Wehda | Ivo Vieira | 2 February 2021[34] | 10th |  Mahmoud Al-Hadid | 2 February 2021[35] | |
| Al-Hilal | Răzvan Lucescu | Mutual consent | 15 February 2021[36] | 3rd |  Rogério Micale | 15 February 2021 |
| Al-Taawoun | Patrice Carteron | 11 March 2021[37] | 4th | Nestor El Maestro | 13 March 2021[38] | |
| Al-Batin | José Garrido | Sacked | 20 March 2021[39] | 13th |  Aleksandar Veselinović | 24 March 2021[40] |
| Al-Wehda | Mahmoud Al-Hadid | 21 March 2021[41] | 14th | Giorgos Donis | 23 March 2021[42] | |
| Al-Ahli | Vladan Milojević | Mutual consent | 24 March 2021[43] | 7th | Laurențiu Reghecampf | 31 March 2021[44] |
| Al-Nassr | Alen Horvat | Sacked | 9 April 2021[45] | 5th | Mano Menezes | 9 April 2021[46] |
| Al-Hilal | Rogério Micale | 2 May 2021 | 1st | José Morais | 2 May 2021[47] | |
The policy of foreign players remained unchanged. Clubs can register a total of seven foreign players over the course of the season.[48]
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
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.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[49] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bafétimbi Gomis | Al-Hilal | 24 |
| 2 |  Emilio Zelaya | Damac | 19 |
| 3 | Cristian Guanca | Al-Shabab | 17 |
| Fabio Abreu | Al-Batin | ||
| 5 |  Carlos Strandberg | Abha | 16 |
| Romarinho | Al-Ittihad | ||
| 7 |  Karim El Berkaoui | Al-Raed | 15 |
 Júlio Tavares | Al-Faisaly | ||
| 9 |  Mitchell te Vrede | Al-Fateh | 13 |
 Léandre Tawamba | Al-Taawoun | ||
| 11 | Hassan Al-Amri | Al-Qadsiah | 12 |
 Omar Al Somah | Al-Ahli | ||
| 13 | Youssouf Niakaté | Al-Wehda | 11 |
| 14 | Naïm Sliti | Al-Ettifaq | 8 |
| 15 |  Dimitri Petratos | Al-Wehda | 7 |
 Filip Kiss | Al-Ettifaq | ||
| Salem Al-Dawsari | Al-Hilal | ||
| 17 | Sofiane Bendebka | Al-Fateh | 6 |
 Juanpi | Al-Ain | ||
| 19 | Ali Al-Zaqaan | Al-Fateh | 5 |
| Fábio Martins | Al-Shabab--> |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–3 (A) | [50] | ||||
| 3–2 (H) | [51] | ||||
| 4–2 (A) | [52] | ||||
| 3–1 (H) | [53] | ||||
| Karim El Berkaoui4 | 4–2 (H) | [54] | |||
| Bafétimbi Gomis4 | 5–0 (A) | [55] | |||
| 4–2 (A) | [56] | ||||
| 3–2 (H) | [57] | ||||
| 4–0 (H) | [58] | ||||
| 4–1 (A) | [59] | ||||
| 4–2 (H) | [60] | ||||
| 4–2 (A) | [61] | ||||
| 4–3 (A) | [62] | ||||
| 3–1 (A) | [63] | ||||
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[64] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cássio | Al-Taawoun | 11 |
| 2 | Azzedine Doukha | Al-Raed | 7 |
| Abdullah Al-Mayouf | Al-Hilal | ||
| 4 | Marcelo Grohe | Al-Ittihad | 6 |
| 5 | Brad Jones | Al-Nassr | 5 |
| Amin Bukhari | Al-Ain | ||
| Zaid Al-Bawardi | Al-Shabab | ||
| 8 | Mustafa Malayekah | Al-Faisaly | 4 |
| Abdelali Mhamdi | Abha | ||
| Mohammed Al-Rubeai | Al-Ahli | ||
 Maksym Koval | Al-Fateh | ||
| Moustapha Zeghba | Damac | ||
| 11 | Martín Campaña | Al-Batin | 3 |
| Raïs M'Bolhi | Al-Ettifaq | ||
| Faisel Masrahi | Al-Qadsiah | ||
| Abdullah Al-Owaishir | Al-Wehda | ||
| 11 | Abdullah Al-Jadaani | Al-Hilal | 2 |
| Yasser Al-Mosailem | Al-Ahli | ||
| Khalid Sharahili | Damac | ||
| Habib Al-Wotayan | Al-Hilal | ||
| 12 |  Giedrius Arlauskis | Al-Shabab | 1 |
| Mohammed Al-Owais | Al-Ahli | ||
| Ahmed Al-Kassar | Al-Faisaly--> | ||
Mohamed Fouzair (Al-Raed)| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | Rising Star of the Month | Reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | ||
| October |  Yannick Ferrera | Al-Fateh | Éver Banega | Al-Shabab | Abdullah Al-Mayouf | Al-Hilal | Saud Abdulhamid | Al-Ittihad | [66] |
| November | Răzvan Lucescu | Al-Hilal | Omar Al Somah | Al-Ahli | Amin Bukhari | Al-Ain | Abdulelah Al-Amri | Al-Nassr | [67] |
| December | Khaled Al-Atwi | Al-Ettifaq | Naïm Sliti | Al-Ettifaq | Marcelo Grohe | Al-Ittihad | Saud Abdulhamid | Al-Ittihad | [68] |
| January | Alen Horvat | Al-Nassr | Léandre Tawamba | Al-Taawoun | Cássio | Al-Taawoun | Abdullah Al-Hamdan | Al-Shabab | [69] |
| February | Carlos Inarejos | Al-Shabab | Éver Banega | Al-Shabab | Cássio | Al-Taawoun | Abdulrahman Ghareeb | Al-Ahli | [70] |
| March | Rogério Micale | Al-Hilal | Farouk Chafaï | Damac | Raïs M'Bolhi | Al-Ettifaq | Abdulelah Al-Amri | Al-Nassr | [71] |
| April & May | Fábio Carille | Al-Ittihad |  Odion Ighalo | Al-Shabab | Marcelo Grohe | Al-Ittihad | Sami Al-Najei | Al-Nassr | [72] |
