Riyadh (AFP)
The leaders Al Ittihad Jeddah meets its guest and its direct chaser, Al Hilal, the defending champion, on Monday at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, in a semi-decisive Clasico at the end of the twenty-seventh stage of the Saudi Football League.
Al-Ittihad leads the standings with 61 points, six points ahead of Al-Hilal, four stages before the end of the season, and a victory by two goals is enough to embrace the title absent from its treasuries 12 years ago.
Al-Hilal decided the first leg 2-1 about two months ago, because the league rules do not depend on calculating goals outside the rules by weakness.
Al-Ittihad hopes to restore balance after its stumble against Al-Fateh (4-4) in the last stage, which provided the opportunity for Al-Hilal to reduce the difference to 6 points.
The Federation enters the match in full ranks, after the recovery of its Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazy and his return to group training after a long absence due to an injury he suffered last February, during the African Nations Cup finals with his country, but his participation in the match remains dependent on the extent of his physical readiness.
The Federation has a group of distinguished names, led by the Brazilian quartet Marcelo Grohe, Bruno Henrique, Romarinho da Silva and Igor Cornado, in addition to Moroccan Abdel Razzaq Hamdallah, Abdelaziz Al-Bishi, Muhannad Al-Shanqiti and Abdel-Rahman Al-Aboud.
On the other hand, Al Hilal seeks to rise quickly and compensate for its loss against Al Fayhaa on penalties in the final match of the King’s Cup.
Al-Hilal lost to Al-Fayhaa 0-1 in a postponed match from the nineteenth stage on the third of May, followed by two victories at the expense of Damak and Al-Ettifaq, and it is looking for its third victory in a row to keep its hopes of defending the title and tightening the screws on Al-Ittihad.
His Argentine coach, Ramon Diaz, fears the fatigue factor, which may affect the players after playing 120 minutes against Al-Fayhaa.
The stage opens on Saturday, as the thirteenth agreement seeks to overcome its last loss against Al Hilal, and exit with the three points, when it receives Al-Hazm, the last place holder.
The third victory is looking for its third successive victory, when it faces the ninth pioneer Saturday at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Buraidah, in a match that the two teams enter with different ambitions.
Al-Raed did not achieve any victory in the last three matches, losing two and drawing one against Al-Taei in the last stage, and despite the strength of his opponent, he will strive to win or at least get a tie point in his quest to avoid relegation.
On the other hand, Al-Nasr managed to achieve a great victory over Al-Shabab 4-2, through which it maintained its third position, and its focus will be on winning to preserve its chances of taking second place from Al-Hilal.
It is expected that the ranks of Al-Nasr will witness the return of the Uruguayan strikers Jonathan Rodriguez and Cameroonian Vincent Abu Bakr in the event of their complete readiness after their absence from the injury in the last match, while the participation of Argentine Petit Martinez seems difficult due to the lack of readiness.
Al-Fath looks for the three points, to secure its position in the warm region, when it receives the Tai.
Al-Ahly sets the three points as its main goal, when it hosts Abha at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah.
The stage concludes with a confrontation with Al-Fayhaa and Dhamk.
The stage opened last Thursday with the victory of Al-Taawoun over Al-Batin 1-0, and Al-Shabab over Al-Faisaly with the same result, after postponing its remaining matches.
#Jeddah #Hilal #Union #Classico #dream #hope