Al-Hilal, the defending champion, seeks to strengthen its lead and put pressure on its direct pursuer, Al-Ittihad, when it visits Al-Khaleej Six on Saturday at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam in the eleventh stage of the Saudi Football League.
Al-Hilal is at the top with 28 points, one point ahead of Al-Ittihad Jeddah, which will face a relatively easy test on Sunday against its guest, Al-Fateh, who is in last place at the end of the stage.
Al Hilal is eager to enhance its unbeaten record in 16 consecutive matches in various competitions this season, and to raise the morale of its players before its trip to Doha to face Al Sadd of Qatar in the fifth round of the elite AFC Champions League competition next Tuesday.
The defending champion is looking forward to establishing its advantage over Al-Khaleej, as the latter has not succeeded in defeating them during the twenty confrontations that have brought them together so far, as Al-Hilal won 19 matches compared to one draw, which was negative in the league in 2006.
But Al Hilal’s task on Saturday will not be easy against Al Khaleej, which is ecstatic with three consecutive victories that allowed it to occupy sixth place with 16 points, in addition to the absence of the attacking trio, Salem Al Dosari, the Portuguese center player, Ruben Neves, and goalkeeper, Mohammed Al Owais, from its ranks due to injury.
On the other hand, Greek Dimitrios Corbelis is absent from the Gulf ranks due to suspension, and there is uncertainty surrounding the participation of his Egyptian striker Mohamed Sharif due to a muscle injury.
The Greek coach of Al-Khaleej, Yorgos Donis, said in a press conference on the sidelines of the match, “Al-Hilal is a team that has high quality and a large number of stars among its ranks,” adding, “But despite its strength, we have confidence in ourselves and we must control the match.”
Al-Hilal is well aware that its stumble will put its lead under threat from Al-Ittihad, and therefore it will score the three points to move away from the lead by 4 points 24 hours before the Jeddah Pole’s match with Al-Fateh.
The Union is lurking
The Jeddah Federation hopes to serve the Gulf to seize the lead when it hosts Al-Fateh at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
Al-Ittihad achieved eight consecutive victories in various competitions, including six in the league, which enabled it to tighten the noose on its rival, Al-Hilal.
Like the defending champion, Al-Ittihad suffers from several absences due to injury, most notably Abdel-Ilah Al-Omari, Ahmed Sharahili, Ahmed Bamasoud, Fawaz Al-Saqour and Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti.
However, the team will regain the services of Algerian international Houssem Aouar after recovering from injury, in addition to Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic and Saad Al-Moussi, while there is doubt about the brand of Frenchman Karim Benzema due to injury.
On the other hand, Al-Fateh, the surprise of the 2012-2013 season when it won the title for the first time in its history, is counting on the Moroccan duo Mourad Batna and Djanini Tavares from Cape Verde to correct its course and get rid of last place.
Al-Fateh aspires to repeat what it did against the second pole of the city of Jeddah, Al-Ahly, when it beat them 1-0 in the second stage, which is the team’s only victory so far this season.
Ronaldo faces doubters
Al-Nasr III, led by its Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, will undergo a difficult test on Friday against its fifth guest, Al-Qadisiyah, the winner of its last three matches.
Al-Nasr wants to continue its awakening and achieve its second victory in a row after two consecutive disappointing draws that cost it six points behind its rival, Al-Hilal, and thus raise the morale of its players before the visit of Al-Gharafa of Qatar on Monday in the AFC Elite Champions League.
Ronaldo, who was ecstatic about leading Portugal to the quarter-finals of the European Nations League, spoke about his career with the team and his dreams and ambitions with Saudi football.
The five-time best player in the world said in the Saudi League documentary: “I am not a man who likes advice, but rather I prefer my actions to be an embodiment of my principles,” adding, “I came to Saudi Arabia in order to achieve titles with Al-Nasr and improve performance with the team, and some believe that I came to get money.” But I’m filled with enthusiasm.”
He continued, “There are those who doubted my capabilities, but I advise them not to get ahead of events. I am full of surprises.”
On the other hand, Al-Qadisiyah aspires to untie the knot of its failure to overcome Al-Nasr in Riyadh in the last ten confrontations between them, and its Spanish coach Mitchell said, “Facing Al-Nasr and its stars represents a challenge for me and the players.”
His Spanish coach and former Real Madrid star, Mitchell, said in a press conference on Wednesday, “The match represents a great challenge for the team and me personally, facing a strong team and a distinguished coach like the Italian Stefano Pioli, who made a rapid change with Al-Nassr.”
He added, “Facing stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, (Senegal’s Sadio) Mane and (Brazil) Talisca represents a challenge, and they are able to focus on plans to confront the team as a whole and not specific players.”
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