Al-Hilal and Al Orubah find themselves at opposite ends of the Saudi Pro League table as they head into Monday's gameweek 31 contest at Kingdom Arena.
The second-placed title contenders must overcome the disappointment of league-leading Al Ittihad clinching a last-gasp winner against Al-Nassr, maintaining a six-point lead over them when they host a visiting club that could end the ongoing round in the dreaded bottom three spots.
Match preview
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Just when Al-Hilal believed they would enter the final four games of their title defence with only four points separating them from table-topper Al Ittihad, the prospects of the second-placed side took a blow when Houssem Aouar netted a 94th-minute winner in the first-placed club's 3-2 victory over Al-Nassr last week.
The table toppers trailed 2-0 before powering back with three second-half strikes to claim their first away victory since mid-February, moving closer to the league crown at the expense of the defending champions, who need to win their remaining games and hope for favours from other clubs to secure consecutive titles.
Temporary boss Mohammad Al-Shalhoub witnessed his team claim a 5-3 victory against bottom-placed Al Raed in his first game since replacing Jorge Jesus, temporarily closing the gap to three points before Al Ittihad's remarkable turnaround.
Despite the seemingly close scoreline, Blue Power were never in danger of dropping points, having led 2-1, 4-1 and 5-2 in their 20th triumph of the season.
Accumulating those goals brought the second-placed team to a total of 84 for the season, significantly surpassing Al Ittihad's 66; however, the Boss have been hindered by conceding 37 goals, seven more than the league-leading team's 30.
The evidence of their tendency to concede being detrimental is highlighted by their recent home results, which show they have conceded two goals or more in three of four games before their supporters, losing to Al-Ahli (3-2) and Al-Nassr (3-1) and drawing 2-2 with Al Shabab, while their only success during this period came from a 3-0 win over Al Khaleej.
With Al Ittihad playing first in gameweek 31, Al-Shalhoub may enter his second fixture in temporary charge with Blue Waves nine points adrift, increasing the pressure to secure maximum points in Monday's encounter.
Hoping to capitalise on a jittery Al-Hilal are Al Orubah on 30 points, who have slipped into the bottom three before their trip to Riyadh after Al Wahda defeated Al Fateh 1-0 on Saturday.
That outcome, along with Damac in 15th place taking on cellar-dwelling Al Raed on Sunday, means the side in 16th could enter their fixture with the defending champions four points from safety if the team directly above them beat the league's bottom side.
With immediate relegation after this term's promotion now appearing likely, the visitors must build on their latest result — a 4-2 away win at Al Riyadh under new boss Antonio Cazorla at the start of the month — to hope for any chance against the defending champions.
That victory on May 1 was the Sakakah-based club's first win since stunning Al-Nassr 2-1 on February 28, a result that was followed by former boss Adnan Hamad suffering five consecutive losses before a 2-2 draw against Al Fayha in late April, with the team failing to score in four of those defeats.
Having netted six times in two games, accumulating four points during this span, Al Orubah, under new management, now aim to go three games without a loss for the second time this season after a successful streak in September where they secured 1-0 victories over Al Fateh and Damac following an exhilarating 3-3 draw at Al Kholood.
Failing to achieve that could see the club with the joint-worst defence (61 goals conceded) end the 31st gameweek in the bottom three, having started the round fully aware of this discouraging possibility.
Team News
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Yasir Al-Shahrani's early withdrawal at Al Raed leaves the hosts low on right-backs as the Saudi defender may join Joao Cancelo on the sidelines, potentially allowing Hamad Al Yami to start.
The home side's leading goalscorer, Marcos Leonardo, has been absent for personal reasons, and the 17-goal forward may be missing on Monday.
Nevertheless, the Boss can rely on Aleksandar Mitrovic and Salem Al-Dawsari, both of whom have scored 15 and 13 goals respectively, to exploit the league's worst defence, with Al-Dawsari entering gameweek 31 fresh off last week's hat-trick in the 5-3 win against Al Raed.
Mohannad Abu Taha will be evaluated after departing with an apparent injury over a week ago against Al Riyadh, though the withdrawal might have been precautionary.
However, Jean Michael Seri, who has not played since October 2024, remains absent due to a long-term injury.
Omar Al Somah was Al Orubah's hat-trick hero in the 4-2 win over Al Riyadh at the start of May, and the 10-goal forward aims to contribute more for the relegation-threatened side.
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Bono; Al Yami, Tambakti, Koulibaly, Lodi; Kanno, Neves, Milinkovic-Savic; Malcom, Mitrovic, Al-Dawsari
Al Orubah possible starting lineup:
Coucke; Al-Maghati, Kandouss, Zouma, Al-Zubaidi; Al-Qarni, Muhar; Gudmundsson, Tello, Taha; Al-Somah
We say: Al-Hilal 3-1 Al Orubah
While Cazorla's appointment at Al Orubah should give the hosts something different to think about, Al-Hilal's attacking prowess gives Blue Power the edge over the Sakakah-based club's vulnerable defence, although both teams could find the back of the net in Monday's match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
