Al-Hilal can officially move into the AFC Champions League quarter-finals for the third time in the last four seasons when they host Sepahan at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Thursday.
The current league leaders in the Saudi Pro League scored three crucial goals in the opening leg last week, coming away with a 3-1 triumph.
Match preview
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To this stage of the tournament, Al-Hilal have got by thanks to some explosive second halves, with 16 of their 19 goals coming in the final 45 minutes of play.
Al-Za'eem have only suffered two defeats in their previous 18 Champions League encounters, with their last one occurring versus Urawa Red Diamonds in May 2023 (1-0).
Jorge Jesus's men remain undefeated in all competitions since losing in extra time against Al-Nassr (2-1) in the Arab Club Champions Cup last August.
The club from Riyadh have won their last 14 home matches in all competitions, with their previous slip-up at home coming on matchday one of this tournament, playing to a 1-1 draw with Navbahor on that occasion.
It has been a while since anyone has been able to contain their potent attack, with Al-Hilal scoring multiple goals in 19 successive fixtures, be it competitive ones or friendlies.
They have only been knocked out of one two-legged affair by an Iranian opponent in this competition, losing both matches of their semi-final tie versus Zob Ahan Esfahan in 2010.
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Despite a solid opening 45 minutes, Sepahan could not contain the second-half surge by Al-Hilal in leg one, losing their first Champions League affair this season after scoring the opening goal.
Jose Morais has seen his side lose four in a row, with their previous victory coming away from home last December in the Iranian Pro League (5-0 over Havadar).
Sepahan need at least a two-goal triumph in this encounter to have any hope of advancing, and they were able to do that on matchday two of the group stage, defeating AGMK in Uzbekistan 3-1.
While it may look bleak right now, this side have shown they can occasionally explode for goals, winning their last five contests in which they had netted multiple times and scoring three or more goals in each of those triumphs.
The club based in Isfahan have never been knocked out in the last 16 of this competition but have also never advanced from a two-legged Champions League affair when losing the opening match.
Yellow Storm have never beaten a Saudi opponent in the knockout portion of this tournament, though they have claimed a positive result in three of their five meetings with Al-Hilal in this competition, including a 2-1 away victory in the 2011 group stage.
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Team News
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Neymar will not be available for Al-Hilal once again this week, with the record goalscorer for the Brazilian national team still recovering from a cruciate ligament tear.
Fellow Brazilian Malcom levelled their opening leg fixture at one with his second of the tournament, while Aleksandar Mitrovic and Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored in second-half stoppage time to give them the victory.
Sepahan will not have Mohammad Daneshgar available for this encounter after he was given a straight red card in the second half of leg one.
Ramin Rezaeian had the opening goal for them in that match before Payam Niazmand conceded three times, more than in any other Champions League fixture that he has started this season.
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Bono; Al-Tambakti, Al-Bulaihi, Koulibaly; Neves, Kanno; Abdulhamid, Malcom, Al-Faraj, S. Al-Dawsari; Mitrovic
Sepahan possible starting lineup:
Niazmand; Rezaeian, Yazdani, Zakipour, Noorafkan; Abass, Karimi, Dabo, Ghorbani, Shekari; Moghanlou
We say: Al-Hilal 2-0 Sepahan (Al-Hilal win 5-1 on aggregate)
You can contain them for a little while, but eventually, Al-Hilal tend to break through, and in leg two, the Saudis have the luxury of a two-goal cushion, which could make them dangerous on the counter.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
