Al-Taawoun vs Al-Hilal – News and Probable Lineups

Al-Hilal has the opportunity to regain the top position in the Saudi Pro League — at least for the time being — by securing an away victory against a struggling Al-Taawoun in their rescheduled matchday 10 encounter on Tuesday.

Simone Inzaghi’s squad fell to second place, two points behind Al-Nassr, following a 1–1 draw at home with ten-man Al Ittihad on Saturday. However, as the league leaders are set to compete on Wednesday, the Blue Waves can reclaim the top spot against hosts who have suffered four losses in their last six matches (W1, D1).

Match overview

In a season characterized by shifts in momentum between the top two teams, Al-Hilal was the last to lose pole position after squandering a six-point advantage, due to their recent struggles in converting draws into wins.

Remaining the only team yet to face defeat in the Saudi top flight this season, the Blue Waves have dropped points in four of their last six league matches, with three of those being encounters in which they initially took the lead.

The draw in Saturday’s Clasico was particularly frustrating for Al-Hilal, who could not maintain their early advantage from Malcolm’s fifth-minute goal, despite having a numerical advantage following Hassan Kadesh’s ninth-minute red card.

With third-placed Al-Ahli closing in, just a point behind, the Blue Waves are under pressure to avoid another setback on Tuesday, although they can draw confidence from their historical dominance over Al-Taawoun.

In fact, Al-Hilal has triumphed in 12 of the last 13 clashes against this opponent (L1), winning each of the last six encounters, all while scoring two or more goals and keeping clean sheets, the latest being a 2–0 victory last March.

Going up against Al-Hilal for the first time this season — as all matchday 10 fixtures were postponed due to the national team’s semi-final run in the FIFA Arab Cup last December — Al-Taawoun aims to avoid the rare occurrence of consecutive home defeats this season.

After battling back from a two-goal deficit with goals from Roger Martinez and Mohammed Al Dossari, the Wolves ultimately fell 3–2, conceding a late goal from Fashion Sakala that handed all three points to Al-Fayha in Buraidah last Friday.

This defeat extended a rough patch for Pericles Chamusca’s team, who have not won in their last four games (D1, L3), with their only win in the past seven matches being a 1–0 victory over Al-Kholood (D2, L4), raising concerns about their ambitions for continental competition.

Currently positioned fifth in the league standings, the Wolves trail the top four by 11 points with 12 matches remaining. Another failure to secure three points against their unbeaten opponents could see them drop as low as seventh by the end of the round.

Yet, with six victories out of 11 home fixtures in the league (D3, L2), Al-Taawoun may believe they have the capability to cause an upset in Tuesday’s contest.

Team News

Al-Taawoun is anticipated to be without forward Musa Barrow, who is still in recovery from a serious knee injury.

Winger Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi is also doubtful, having been absent from the matchday squad for six consecutive matches, and centre-back Andrei Girotto has missed the last seven games.

Christopher Zambrano may be unavailable for a fourth successive match, implying that Martinez is likely to head the attack once again, especially after scoring in the last encounter.

After going silent against his former club on Saturday, Karim Benzema has now been unable to score in back-to-back matches, with his only goals coming from a hat-trick in his debut for Al-Hilal, and the seasoned striker will be keen to regain his scoring form.

Furthermore, Marcos Leonardo has reportedly been told to train in isolation recently and could miss his seventh straight match for both domestic and international play.

Additionally impacted by squad limitations, ex-Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez and former Arsenal defender Pablo Mari have both been excluded from Al-Hilal’s Saudi Pro League and domestic cup rosters due to the foreign player limit, indicating their continued absence.

Al-Taawoun probable starting XI:

Maylson; Mahzari, Al Dossari, Lajami, Al Mufarrij; Flavio, El Mahdioui, Fulgini; Petkov, Martinez, Biel

Al-Hilal probable starting XI:

They bounce; Al-Harbi, Koulibaly, Al-Tambakti, Hernandez; Milinkovic-Savic, Neves, Kanno; Malcolm, Benzema, Salem Al-Dawsari

Both teams will be eager for a win to avoid further drops in the standings, suggesting an exciting encounter is on the horizon in Buraidah on Tuesday. However, the hosts face a challenging task against visitors who have yet to lose in any of their 33 matches this season (W26, D7).

Consequently, we predict that Al-Hilal will outscore Al-Taawoun in this matchup, driven by their superior quality, their dominance in this fixture, and the fact that the Blue Waves have won seven of their ten away games (D3) this league season.