They already lost the title of Saudi Professional League to either Al Hilal or Al Nassr. No chance for Al-Ittihad to defend their league title against these clubs in this season as their previous poor performances already contribute to make very big gaps of Al-Ittihad against these competitors.
They only can try to play well until the season ending and consider rest matches as chances for them to prepare for a next season. In AFC Champions League, they will meet Al Hilal in semi finals and it will be big challenge for a last chance for Al Ittihad to win a title in this season. Their chance looks not too good, first with poor performances in Saudi Professional League, second from their latest poor performance against Navbahor even they won the match, and lastly the outstanding forms of Al Hilal in this season.
Not only were they unable to defend their title in this competition, but their performance plummeted below the top four in the standings. although the opportunity to enter the top four elite ranks of the Saudi Pro League is still very wide open. For me, it's only natural that Al Ittihad's performance has dropped drastically, apart from its competitors being very competitive based on team depth. in fact, Al Ittihad also had internal problems between players and coaches at that time. Benzema and Nuno Santo's dispute will clearly affect the dressing room in the Al Ittihad camp. Plus, Benzema also suffered an injury. so to compete tightly like last season, like competing tightly with Al Nassr, especially now, especially with Al Hilal for this season. It seems, something that will be very difficult to realize. even though in reality, the Saudi Pro League still has 14 remaining matches.
Well, as you said, now Marcelo Gallardo's job is to focus more on building his squad so that the performance of his team improves. at the very least, as one of the elite teams in the competition, Al Ittihad is at least capable of finishing in the top 4 ranks. however, the problem is, it seems that the Argentinian coach has not yet found the right pattern, especially the rotation of his players. so, he tends to change his strategy patterns. It is very likely that the existing players are not ideal with the system he is implementing, apart from Karim Benzema.
Talking about the AFC Champions League, between Al Hilal vs Al Ittihad, which will be held on March 6. this match is a crucial match, which can test how tough Gallardo's squad is and how lucky they are. because, the opponent this time is Al Hilal, whose performance is showing a positive trend and can be said to be on fire. Finally, let's just follow the development of Al Ittihad and the Saudi Pro League competition.