Two sides with contrasting Saudi Pro League ambitions this season will square off this week when Al Riyadh take on Al-Hilal at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The hosts are currently down in 14th place in the league standings, while the visitors have been incredible this season and currently lead the way, nine points clear of their closest challengers.
Match preview
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After earning promotion to the top flight last season, survival would likely have been Al Riyadh's main goal at the start of this campaign, but after managing one win in their first seven league games, they had found themselves firmly in the drop zone heading into October.
Their poor start to the 2023-24 campaign led to the axing of Belgian Yannick Ferrera, with Brazilian tactician and former Santos boss Odair Hellmann being brought in to steady the ship for RIY heading into November.
Since his appointment, the new manager has managed to keep his side's head above water, recording three wins, three draws and six losses in his first 12 matches in charge of the team from the capital city.
Following a 2-1 win over Al Okhdood last week, RIY moved to 23 points after 22 games, five points clear of Al Tai, who are the first side below the dotted line and five points behind the teams in the top half of the table.
However, the visitors now face a huge task against a side that have not been bested in the top flight as yet this season and that emerged as 6-1 winners in the reverse fixture back in September last year.
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Since that 6-1 demolition at the Kingdom Arena, Al-Hilal have played a total of 16 Pro League games and have only dropped two points in that time, unexpectedly drawing 1-1 against Damak at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium.
The Blue Waves are still the only side in the top flight that are unbeaten this season (W20 D2 L0), currently riding a 15-match winning streak in the league, and have won each of their last 28 games across all competitions.
Jorge Jesus's side faced defending league champions Al Ittihad twice in the space of a week this month and beat them 3-1 in last weekend's league match before taking a two-goal advantage in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final tie in midweek.
On the road this season, Al-Za'eem are riding an 11-match winning streak in all competitions, are unbeaten in their last 17 outings, and have only failed to score two or more goals in a game on one occasion.
However, while their attacking output this season has been incredible (67 goals in 22 league games), Al-Hilal's defence has arguably been their biggest strength, allowing just 11 goals to date and only two in their last six.
Team News
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With no reported injuries at the moment, Hellmann has a full roster at his disposal but is likely to field a similar starting 11 to the one he sent out in their 2-1 win over Al Okhdood last weekend.
Former Watford striker Andre Gray netted the winning goal in the last match and should continue to lead the line alongside Zimbabwean Knowledge Musona, while the side's leading scorer Saleh Al Abbas will be hoping to return to the starting 11 after coming off the bench last time out.
Jesus has been without his marquee signing Neymar since mid-October due to a cruciate ligament tear, and the Brazilian is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
In addition, Hassan Tambakti, Muteb Al-Mufarrij, Mohammed Al Owais, and Mohammed Al Burayk have all been flagged with injuries and are doubts for this week's trip to Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium.
Aleksandar Mitrovic has been sensational since joining the Blue Waves at the start of the season, currently on 19 goals in as many games, three behind the league's top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Al Riyadh possible starting lineup:
Campana; Hussain, Assiri, Shwirekh, Khaibari, Toure, Ndong; Shehri, Abbas; Musona, Gray
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, Albulayhi, Lodi; Milinkovic-Savic, Neves, Al-Faraj, Malcolm, Al-Dawsari; Mitrovic
We say: Al Riyadh 0-2 Al-Hilal
Al-Hilal have been incredible this season and look destined to lift the title. They are the only unbeaten side in the league this term, and we expect them to secure another comfortable victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
