Al-Hilal, who are leading the Saudi Pro League by the tiniest of margins, will welcome Al-Ettifaq to the Kingdom Arena on Friday.
The hosts have seen their lead over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr cut down to one point, while the visitors will be looking to move closer to the top three in the standings.
Al-Hilal have been excellent in the current campaign, winning 15 of their 20 league matches so far, but a recent run of underwhelming results has thrown the title race wide open.
Between September and January, Simone Inzaghi’s team won 13 games in a row to sit comfortably at the top of the standings, but a three-game winless run against Al-Riyadh (1-1), Al-Qadsiah (2-2) and Al-Ahli (0-0) leaves them looking over their shoulders.
The Blue Waves did manage to get back to winning ways with new acquisition Karim Benzema scoring a hat-trick on his debut to help them to a comprehensive 6-0 victory over the struggling Al-Okhdood.
With Al-Nassr only a point behind the hosts in the race for the title, there is little or no room for error, and a result other than a win could see them give up their top spot.
That said, the home fans have little or nothing to worry about, considering that their team have a dominant head-to-head record over the visitors with six wins in seven clashes across all competitions.
In addition, the Kingdom Arena has been a fortress for the Blue Power, as they have won all but one of their last 12 engagements on their stomping ground.
Al-Ettifaq, on the other hand, will enter this contest off the back of successive victories against Al-Taawoun (1-0) and Damac (2-0).
Going into this contest, the Commandos will be seeking to complete three consecutive victories in the league for the first time this season.
Currently sitting sixth in the table with 35 points accrued so far, Saad Al-Shehri’s team are 12 points off the top three, and they will be eager to cut that gap with 14 fixtures left to play.
Although they suffered a 4-0 loss at the hands of Al-Ahli in their last outing away from home, Al-Shehri has a reason to be upbeat ahead of this contest, having won four consecutive matches on the road before that loss.
Al-Hilal Saudi Pro League form:
Al-Hilal form (all competitions):
Al Ettifaq Saudi Pro League form:
© Imago
Karim Benzema rose above the drama of moving from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal to hit the ground running, notching a hat-trick in the hosts' most recent encounter.
The French forward should lead the line, with support from Malcom and Salem Al-Dawsari.
There have been reports of Yassine Bounou being injured, but he should be fit enough for the visit of Al-Ettifaq.
Kalidou Koulibaly has featured at the heart of defence in the last two matches for the hosts, and he is expected to keep his place.
The away side have no injury concerns, meaning that there is a chance to feature the same starting XI from their last outing.
Marek Rodak is the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper, and he should be called upon to start once again.
Georginio Wijnaldum is his team’s leading scorer with 11 goals to his name from midfield, and he should be one of the first names on the team sheet.
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Al Yami, Koulibaly, Lajami, Hernandez; Milinkovic-Savic, Neves, N. Al-Dawsari; Malcolm, Benzema, S. Al-Dawsari
Al Ettifaq possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Calvo, Hindi, Hendry, Al Otaibi; Costa, Medran, Ali, Wijnaldum; Al-Ghannam, Kouka
This is an important match for Al-Hilal, and a victory here is the only certain way of holding on to their narrow lead at the top of the standings.
That said, the visitors are looking to close in on the top three places. Thus, we are expecting a closely fought match, with the home side expected to claim a 2-1 win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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