Saudi Pro League action will return to the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium this weekend when Al Khaleej play host to the defending champions Al-Hilal on Saturday evening.
The hosts will enter matchday 11 of the competition in sixth place with 16 points, while the visitors are atop the league standings with 28 points after the first 10 games of the season.
Match preview
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Al Khaleej have been one of the most progressive sides in the Saudi Pro League over the last few seasons, as they avoided relegation in their first campaign in the top flight and moved up to 11th last term.
This season, they are firmly in the top half of the standings after the first 10 games and could draw level with fifth place by the end of the weekend if Al Qadisiyah fail to beat Al-Nassr on the road.
The Pearls went into the international break off the back of an impressive 2-1 away win over Al Fateh - their third in a row in the top flight - which is now also the joint-second-longest active win streak in the division.
Notably, Georgios Donis's side have scored nine goals during their current winning run, which is a significant improvement after only netting three times in their seven preceding games of the season.
At home, Al Khaleej have taken a total of seven points from a possible 15 this term (W2 D1 L2), though they have managed to keep three clean sheets in their last four matches here at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium.
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Meanwhile, Al Hilal are having another excellent Saudi Pro League season and resume league duty this week as one of only two teams in the division that are yet to taste defeat in this campaign.
The Blue Waves eased to a 3-1 victory over Al Ettifaq ahead of the international break, which was their ninth win in 10 games this season, with a 1-1 draw against Al-Nassr at the start of the month being the only blemish on their otherwise flawless record.
Additionally, barring that stalemate against the Knights of Najd, Jorge Jesus's side have scored two or more goals in each of their remaining nine league games and are the highest-scoring team in the league with 27.
Central to their excellent attacking performances has been former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored the opener against Steven Gerrard's side last time out, which took his tally for the season to 11 - three ahead of Karim Benzema.
Al-Hilal beat this opponent 4-1 in their last encounter, extending their winning record against them to eight matches dating back to November 2015, a period during which they have outscored the Pearls 29-2.
Team News
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Al Khaleej have just one known injury absentee for this match in the form of centre-back Abdullah Al-Fahad, who suffered a torn muscle in October and is likely to remain sidelined until the New Year.
Forward Abdullah Al Salem was in excellent form leading up to the international break, netting a brace in each of his last two matches, and he will almost certainly lead the line again this weekend.
For Al-Hilal it is becoming increasingly likely that superstar Neymar will be departing the team in January, with Marseille and Inter Miami being among the side's rumoured to be his next destination.
Aside from the Brazilian, the visitors are missing Ruben Neves due to a patellar tendon rupture, and Salem Al-Dawsari, who sustained a ligament injury in the victory over Al Ettifaq a couple of weeks ago.
Al Khaleej possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Al Hamsal, Tisserand, Al Khabrani, Rebocho; Hamzi, Kourbelis; Narey, Fortounis, Martins; Al Salem
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Cancelo, Koulibaly, Al Buhaili, Lodi; N Al Dawsari, Milinkovic-Savic; Malcom, Leonardo, Al Ghannam; Mitrovic
We say: Al Khaleej 1-3 Al-Hilal
While Al Khaleej went into the international break carrying a three-match win streak, it is hard to make much of a case for them to come out on top here, having lost their last eight in a row to the Blue Waves.
Al-Hilal have been excellent so far this season and we feel they will notch up another comfortable victory over this opponent in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
