Al Hilal team aspires to get closer to winning the Saudi Professional League title when it hosts its guest Al-Fateh team in the 29th round, a few days after its Asian exit in the semi-final against Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates, to resume its local journey and look to continue to maintain that it is not subjected to loss in any way. Match so far in the Saudi League.
Al Hilal enters the match looking for reconciliation with its fans after suffering a loss in the first leg of the AFC Champions League semi-final, which caused its exit from the continental tournament despite its victory in the return match, a loss that stopped Al Hilal’s series of consecutive victories, which reached the number 34.
Al-Azraq Al-Asmi stands with a few points separating it from embracing the league title and officially clinching it, with 6 rounds remaining until the end, in addition to a postponed confrontation for the team with its counterpart, Al-Ahly, bringing the total number of matches to 7 matches, meaning 21 points remaining until the end of the season, of which Al-Hilal needs only 9 points to win a decision. League title.
The team, led by Portuguese Jorge Jesus, is 9 points away from its closest competitor (Al-Nasr, which is in second place), with a postponed match for Al-Hilal, which has 77 points compared to 68 for Al-Nasr.
After the Asian exit, Al-Hilal will lose the services of its player Salem Al-Dosari, who suffered a muscle injury in the return match against Al-Ain, which reduces the team’s attacking options, especially in light of the Serbian Alexander Mitrovic not returning yet despite being close to being fully ready, and he may be on the bench against Al-Fateh. In preparation for the King’s Cup semi-final against Al-Ittihad, which will be held next Tuesday.
Jesus believes that Mitrovic's absence caused a decline in the Blue Team's effectiveness and a scarcity of offensive solutions against Al Ain, in addition to the absence of Brazilian star Neymar from an early stage in the season.
The Portuguese coach said: “I asked the players in the locker room to raise their heads. We must not forget that this team did not lose (in 42 matches this season before the match with Al Ain) and we are sure that the victories will continue.”
He added: “The overall result is disappointing, but we must look forward. There are two tournaments remaining that we want to win.”
As for Al-Fateh, it aspires to continue its victories and prove its presence in sixth place, where it finds competition from its counterpart, Al-Ittifaq, as the two teams are equal with the same score (40 points), but Al-Fateh succeeded in climbing to it last round, benefiting from Al-Ittifaq’s draw against Al-Wehda.
