Riyadh (AFP)
Al-Hilal is looking to move away from the top of the Saudi Football League, when it faces a difficult test at Al-Fateh Stadium, fourth in the standings, while Al-Ittihad, the defending champion, hopes to stop the loss of points when it meets Al-Shabab Al-Jarih, on Friday, in the 12th stage of the Saudi Football League.
At the stadium of Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Sports City in Al-Ahsa, Al-Hilal, the only one that has not lost so far in the league, clashes with Al-Fateh, which is ecstatic from four consecutive victories in the league, before finally falling in the King’s Cup to Al-Shabab.
Al-Hilal is four points away from its rival, Al-Nasr, its closest pursuer, and it has the strongest defense (8), and the second-best attack (30).
While Al-Zaeem is beginning to regain his great levels, his Brazilian star Neymar will be absent until the end of the season after he suffered an injury to the cruciate ligament in his knee. But it has distinguished players such as the Brazilian Malcom, the Serbians Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the Portuguese Ruben Neves, the Senegalese defender Khalidou Koulibaly and the Moroccan goalkeeper Yacine Bounou.
It will be the first match in the league for its star, Salem Al-Dosari, after he was crowned the best player in Asia.
On the other hand, Al-Fateh is missing its striker, Djanini Tavares, from Cape Verde due to injury, but in return, it may bring back its Algerian star, Sofiane Ben Dabke, if his readiness is complete.
Al-Fateh includes distinguished names such as Moroccans Marwan Saadane and Mourad Batna, Belgian Jason Denayer, Armenian Lucas Zelarayan and Spaniard Cristian Tio.
Al-Ittihad and its host Al-Shabab are looking to restore the winning tone and return to the right track, when they meet at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, and after failing to achieve victory in the last four matches (one loss and three draws), Al-Ittihad fell to sixth place, eight points behind Al-Hilal, while Al-Shabab settled for three. The victories placed it in a disappointing eleventh place, after its administrative problems at the beginning of the season.
The squad of Portuguese coach Nuno Espírito Santo breathed a sigh of relief after beating Al-Fayhaa with three goals in the cup competition.
The “Dean” is counting on his French captain, Karim Benzema, his Moroccan top scorer, Abderrazak Hamdallah, the Brazilians Igor Cornado, Marcelo Grohe, and Romarinho Da Silva, and the Frenchman, N’Golo Kante.
Al-Shabab continues its modest results in the league, the most recent of which was a loss to Abha, which is threatened with relegation, 1-2, before it succeeded in overcoming Al-Fateh 2-1 in the King’s Cup competition and qualified for the quarter-finals.
The youth includes distinguished names such as its Argentine captain, Ever Banega, its Korean goalkeeper, Kim Seung-gyu, the Colombian, Gustavo Cuellar, the Belgian, Yannick Carrasco, the Moroccan, Romain Saiss, and the Brazilian, Carlos Junior.
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