Al Hilal will welcome Al Fayha to the Kingdom Arena on Friday for a one-on-one clash in the Saudi Pro League. Kickoff is scheduled for 16:00 GMT+1.
Key Highlights
Al Hilal
Al Hilal have been in brilliant form in the early stages of the 2024/25 Saudi Pro League season. They have won six matches out of six, hauling 18 points and opening up a three-point lead ahead of second-placed Al Ittihad at the top of the table.
Crucially for Jorge Jesus’ men is the 18 goals they have plundered. Led by Aleksandar Mitrovic, the defending champions have been irresistible as they have stormed to a perfect start to the season.
The positive start has been crucial for Al Hilal because second-placed Al Ittihad have had an equally brilliant start, with 17 goals scored and seven goals conceded.
Al Hilal have had a mix of matches, combining heavy wins with close ones. Last time out, before the international break, the defending champions were forced to come from behind to win 1-2 at Al Ahli.
Such close wins show that the team is comfortable when dominating the match and when they have to fight for the three points, which augurs well for their bid to defend their title.
Aleksandar Mitrovic will be the man to stop when Al Hilal hosts Al Fayha on Friday
Al Fayha
Al Fayha are marooned in the bottom half of the Saudi Pro League table after they made a dismal start to their SPL campaign with one win, two draws, and three defeats in their opening six rounds of fixtures.
They have managed to score five goals in six outings this season, which is among the lowest attacking outputs in the Saudi Pro League so far this season. The challenge for Al Fayha is that they have conceded 12 times, a record that is only better than Al Wehda’s 16 conceded so far.
Their lack of potency in attack and porousness at the back combine to explain their poor run of form so far. This makes their clash against free-scoring Al Hilal significantly ominous.
However, Al Fayha have shown signs of a turnaround in their last three Saudi Pro League matches, drawing twice and winning once, keeping two clean sheets, scoring four times, and conceding twice. This run will be instructive when they face Al Hilal on Friday.
Injury Report
Neither side has reported fresh injury worries ahead of Friday’s encounter. Despite news of Neymar returning from injury, he’s not registered for the league and will not make any appearances until the registration window opens in January.
Team News
Aleksandar Mitrovic, after his match-winning brace against Al Ahli Saudi, will lead the line for Al Hilal as they look to press home their advantage at the top of the table. The Serbian will be the dangerman, with the support of Malcolm and Al-Dawsari in attack.
Al Fayha will continue with Pozuelo and Lopez as their twin attack; this will give them the advantage of two backs of four in midfield and at the back designed to contain Al Hilal’s attacking prowess.
Prediction
Al Hilal are the overwhelming favorites to extend their winning run to seven consecutive this season; they will win the three points on offer.
