Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal will have their sights set on securing a fifth consecutive league victory when they welcome Al Wahda to Kingdom Arena on Tuesday evening.
Off the back of five wins from the last six meetings between the teams, the home side have dominated this fixture to a large degree and will be confident of coming out on top in Riyadh.
Match preview
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Fresh from romping to the league title last time out with a whopping 94 points and zero defeats, Al-Hilal were tipped to cruise to another domestic crown, but they have been handed a stern challenger in Al-Ittihad this term.
Both teams are tied on 40 points at the top of the Saudi Pro League table midway through the campaign, although Jorge Jesus's men just about have the edge due to their superior goal difference, thanks in no small part to a 9-0 demolition of Al-Fateh last time out.
Salem Al-Dawsari and Marcos Leonardo both grabbed three goals apiece to lead the way for Al-Hilal and were joined on the scoresheet by Renan Lodi, Kalidou Koulibaly and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
As the club prepares to part ways with Neymar, Al Za'eem are showing no signs of slowing down in attack, having scored a whopping 14 goals across their last two matches and a league-high 48 goals this term.
Neymar is expected to have played his last game for Al-Hilal after head coach Jesus confirmed the Brazilian superstar will not be registered for the second half of the season due to his recurring injury concerns.
In the fourth fixture of an extremely tight January schedule for Tuesday's hosts, they will be keen to secure all three points to help keep the juggernaut rolling ahead of their final two fixtures of the month against Al-Qadisah and Al-Okhood.
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Al Wahda ended 2024 on a run of one victory from their final 10 competitive matches but managed to get the new year underway with a narrow 2-1 victory over Al Fateh at the Al Fateh Club Stadium on January 9.
However, Daniel Carreno's men were on the receiving end of yet another defeat last time out as they fell to a comprehensive 3-0 drubbing against Al Quadisiya in Friday's meeting at the King Abdul Aziz Stadium.
An underwhelming first-half display was punished in its penultimate minute by Cameron Puertas's opener before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ezequiel Fernandez made sure of the result in the second period.
The Knights of Mecca have picked up just 12 points from their 15 league involvements so far and currently sit bottom but one in the standings, albeit inside the drop zone only on goal difference at the moment.
Having kept the joint fewest clean sheets in the division (one) alongside Al Fateh, Tuesday's visitors have some tightening up to do at the back in their quest to turn their season around and move clear of the battle for survival.
Team News
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Neymar remains unavailable for Al-Hilal as talks over his exit accelerate, with former club Santos waiting in the wings for a reunion with their once most prized asset.
Leading goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic has missed the last two matches through an injury problem, which is set to rule the Serbian out of Tuesday's contest.
Marcos Leonardo is on a five-game scoring streak for the home side during which he has found the back of the net eight times, and the forward is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Despite conceding goals at an alarming rate, Abdullah Al Owayshir is expected to retain his place in the Al Wahda starting lineup for the seventh straight game.
Twenty-five-year-old Yahya Naji could miss a third game on the bounce for the away side having not featured since December's friendly encounter against Al Fateh.
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Bono; Cancelo, Koulibaly, Al Bulayhi, Lodi; N Al-Dawsari, Neves; Malcolm, Milinkovic-Savic, S Al-Dawsari; Leonardo
Al Wahda possible starting lineup:
Al Owayshir; Al Muwallad, Al Hafith, El Yamiq, Al Alaeli; Cretu, Bakshween; Al Makahasi, Bacuna, Goodwin; Ighalo
We say: Al-Hilal 5-0 Al Wahda
Al-Hilal are in red-hot form at the moment and will certainly take some stopping here. We fully expect the hosts to cruise to a commanding triumph in front of their fans, scoring plenty of goals en route.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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