Al Ahli enters the encounter on a wave of nerves with just two victories in their past five league matches. They had just drawn 1-1 with Al Wehda. Despite their inconsistent play, Al Ahli has shown signs of improvement since returning to Saudi Arabia’s top division, and they’ll be looking to get back on track against league favourite Al Hilal.

Having gone unbeaten all season, Al Hilal will enter the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in top shape. Their 4-1 Saudi Super Cup triumph against Al Ittihad was another proof of their supremacy. Al Hilal wants to keep their league championship hopes alive with another victory and extend their undefeated record.

Head to Head and previous matches

The league leaders, Al Hilal, need only three victories to clinch the championship, while Al Ahli is still hunting for a spot in the Champions League. Al Ahli has greatly exceeded expectations for a team that got promoted earlier in the season.

Their investment has shown results so far, notwithstanding how low they seem compared to Al Hilal and Al Nassr. They are still in the running for next season’s Asian Champions League spot with 52 points. There is a thirteen-point gap between Al Ahli and the Champions League position.

See our liverpool vs atalanta and bayer leverkusen vs west ham in europa league quarter-final second leg – full predictions

Even if they don’t earn a position on the European squad, Al Ahli will make a huge statement with a third-place result. The team led by Matthias Jaissle enters this matchup with the second-best defensive record. It would be reasonable for Al Ahli to field a defensive lineup against the league’s top defensive and scoring team. With their 3-1 loss in their season opener, Al Ahli are now winless in their last five meetings against Al Hilal.

With less time to relax, Al Hilal would be rushed to Al Ahli. Before travelling to Jeddah for this match, they have a Champions League away match against Al Ain scheduled for Wednesday. They will be energized for this game since they are still chasing a quadruple, which they won soon after the Super Cup. With 77 points, Al Hilal is far ahead of second-place Al Nassr in the league.

The visitors lead the league in offence and defence and are the only team without a loss. Even though they’ve been struggling with a glut of fixtures, they’re riding high on a solid run versus Al Ahli and are heavy favourites to win this match. September 2023 was the last time they lost a league match.

Al Hilal entered this game with a 20-game winning streak in the league. But they only kept two clean sheets in their past eight league games.

Predicted Lineup

Al Ahli Predicted Lineup:

Mendy; Yaslam, Ibanez, Demiral, Hurayji; Alasmari, Kessie; Saint-Maximin, Firmino, Mahrez; Buraikan

Al Hilal predicted lineup:

Bono; Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, Al Bulaihi, Lodi; Neves, Milinkovic-Savic; Michael, Malcolm, Al Dawsari; Al Shehri

Our Predictions

Al Hilal to win

Both teams are taking different paths as the contest gets closer. Even though Al Ahli is known for being a tough squad, it’s quite unlikely that the Jeddah-based club from Al Hilal would pull off an upset in the Saudi Pro League. Although the match will be intense, Al Hilal is the favourite to defeat Al Ahli Saudi in their next match.