Al-Hilal will be seeking to open up a 12-point lead at the top of the Saudi Professional League when they journey to the King Abdullah Sports City to face Al-Ahli on Monday.
With just five games to go, the Royals find themselves just four points above Al-Taawoun just outside the Champions League qualifying places and will be looking to end the season on a high.
Match preview
© Reuters
Al-Ahli picked up three huge points in their quest for a top-three finish as they steamrolled 10-man Damac 4-1 at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium last Thursday.
In a game where Farouk Chafai received his marching orders, the hosts netted four goals in a frenetic opening 25 minutes courtesy of Ziyad Aljohani, Firas Al-Buraikan, Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino before Domagoj Antolic pulled one back in the 62nd minute.
Prior to that, Al-Hilal were on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat at Al-Riyadh on April 25 and had failed to win four of their previous five matches — a run which threatened to derail their season.
With their midweek victory, Matthias Jaissle's men have now gone unbeaten in seven of their last eight home matches, picking up four wins and three draws since the start of November.
Al-Ahli's solid home form will be put to the test on Monday as they welcome the challenge of an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in their last five meetings, losing three and picking up two draws since a 2-1 defeat in August's reverse fixture 2020.
© Reuters
Al-Hilal, on the other hand, turned in another performance of the highest quality as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Al-Taawoun at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on Friday.
In a one-sided affair, the visitors were no match for the Wolves as former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring in the 49th minute before Saud Abdulhamid and Saleh Al-Shehri netted second-half goals to cap off a solid team performance.
Al-Hilal have now won each of their last four matches across all competitions — scoring 10 goals and conceding three — a run which has seen them reach the Kings Cup final following their 2-1 victory at Al-Ittihad on April 30.
Al-Za'eem head into the weekend on a run of 22 consecutive victories in the Professional League and are the only side yet to suffer defeat in the league this season, having picked up 27 wins and two draws in their 29 matches so far.
With just five games to go, Jorge Jesus's men currently lead the way at the top of the league table with 83 points from 29 matches, nine points above second-placed Al-Nassr.
Team News
© Reuters
Ziyad Aljohani was forced off injured midway through the game against Damac last time out and the 22-year-old is a doubt for Monday's game.
Should he fail to shake off his injury, 27-year-old Ali Al-Asmari should come into the fold, teaming up with Africa Cup of Nations winner Franck Kessie at the centre of the park.
With his strike against Al-Taawoun, Mitrovic now has 23 goals in what has been a stellar debut campaign in the Saudi top flight and we expect the Serbian striker to spearhead Al-Hilal's attack once again.
He should be joined in the final third by Nasser Al-Dawsari and Brazilian forward Michael, while Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic should form the two-man midfield anchor once again.
At the defensive end of the pitch, we expect an unchanged back four of Mohammed Al-Burayk, Ali Albulayhi, Kalidou Koulibaly and Abdulhamid, with Bono starting between the sticks once again.
Al-Ahli possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Ibanez, Demiral, Hindi, Al-Amar; Al-Asmari, Kessie; Mahrez, Firimno, Saint-Maximin; Al-Buraikan
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Bono; Al-Burayk, Albulayhi, Koulibaly, Abdulhamid; Neves, Milinkovic-Savic; Al-Dawsari, Michael, Mitrovic
We say: Al-Ahli 1-3 Al-Hilal
Buoyed by their impressive victory over Damac, Al-Ahli will head into Monday's game looking to dent Al-Hilal's title charge. However, Jesus's men boast the firepower needed to get the job done and we fancy them to come away with all three points once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
