Al-Hilal will be looking to extend their lead atop the Saudi Pro League when they head to Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Musaed Sports City to take on Al Tai on Friday evening.
The hosts are currently in 11th place in the league with 17 points after 15 games this season, while the visitors are now on 41 points and seven clear of their closest rival, Al Nassr.
Match preview
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After a solid ninth-placed finish last season, Al Tai have yet to find their best form this term and come into this match with just four points separating them from Abha, who are the first side below the dotted line.
The Knight of the North have recorded five wins, two draws, and eight losses in their 15 matches this season, which included a run of five consecutive matches without a win between August and September.
However, after beating newly-promoted Al Riyadh at the end of October, Laurentiu Reghecampf's side have improved notably and come into this match, having taken 10 points from the last 15 on offer.
They now face the best side in the league this season, and their record of three losses and a draw in their last four against the league leaders does not inspire much confidence in their chances in this one.
Meanwhile, Al-Hilal are flying high at the moment and head into this encounter after securing the top spot in their group in the AFC Champions League by beating Nassaji Mazandaran 2-1 in midweek.
That was also the Blue Waves' 15th consecutive win in all competitions, and they are still the only side in the top flight that are yet to suffer defeat this season, boasting a league record of 13 wins and two draws.
The most recent of those league wins was arguably their most important so far, as they overcame Al Nassr 3-0 last weekend to take a commanding lead in the table, while it was also their fourth consecutive clean sheet.
Jorge Jesus's side have not only been good in defence, though, as they currently possess the best-attacking numbers as well this season with an incredible 46 goals scored, averaging over three goals per 90 minutes.
With a favourable run of matches leading up to Christmas, which include two of the bottom five teams, Al-Hilal look set to end the year in pole position and seem well on their way to winning back the Pro League title.
Team News
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The hosts have two defensive injuries to contend with heading into this match, with Hussain Qasim and Abdulkarim Al-Sulaiman both expected to be out for a while with cruciate ligament injuries.
Bernard Mensah has scored in each of his last four games and will continue as the furthest-forward midfielder, while Nawaf Al-Aumairi will be serving the final of his three-match ban in this one.
The visitors, on the other hand, are seeing injuries starting to add up, with Yassine Bounou being the latest casualty after suffering a muscle injury which saw him withdrawn against Nassaji Mazandaran in midweek.
Neymar and Muteb Al Mufarrij are both out with cruciate ligament injuries, while Yasir Al Shahrani, Nasser Al Dawsari, Mohammed Al Owais, Malcom and Hassan Tambakti are all flagged as major doubts.
Ali Albulayhi is ineligible for selection after receiving a straight red against Al Nassr last weekend.
Al Tai possible starting lineup:
Al Bagawi; Mohammed, Al Nakhli, Bauer, Roco, Majrashi; Asiri, Semedo, Mensah, Al-Moasher; Al-Haizan
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Alwotayan; Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, Bulaihi, Al-Berik; Kanno, Al-Faraj, Michael, Alhamddan, Al-Dawsari; Shehri
We say: Al Tai 0-2 Al-Hilal
Al-Hilal are in excellent form at the moment and continue to churn out positive results despite having a fairly extensive injury list. The hosts have shown improvement after a difficult couple of months, but we feel that the visitors will be too strong for them in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
