Al-Hilal aims to close the gap with the top federation and maintain their title challenge chances when they face Al-Ittifaq at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam today in the postponed match of the 20th round of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Pro Cup .
Al-Hilal, the defending champion of the past two seasons, has scored 52 points in 25 games compared to Al-Ittihad’s 61 in 26 games, and has four games left in the current version, while the thirteenth agreement struggles not to go over into the minor leagues. as it moves away from the bottom runner-up to the lost point.
Al Hilal have historically outclassed their hosts Al Ettifak in the league as they have met 84 times in the past, one of them in the golden square. The agreement, led by his French coach Patrice Carteron, managed a big win at the expense of his hosts Al Taawun 4-0 in the last round, during which he regained the balance.
The agreement includes Algerian goalkeeper Rais M’Boli, Slovak Philip Kiss, Tunisian Naeem Sality, Swede Robin Quison and Mohamed El Quekibi.
After a sudden loss to Al Fayhaa in a postponed match, Al Hilal quickly returned to a winning streak after defeating Damak 4-2. And he is looking to overcome the hurdle of an agreement to reduce the points difference with the leading federation to six points ahead of the El Clasico match , which will bring them together next Sunday, and in the light of his outcome the course of the championship is determined by a large percentage.
Al-Hilal took a double hit before the decisive stages, after the end of the season of his players Mutaib Al-Mafraj and Colombian Gustavo Cuellar, due to injuries in the last Damak match.
Medical examinations confirmed that Al-Mufraj tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee, but Al-Hilal has not yet set a date for his operation.
Al Mafarrei came on as a substitute in the 64th minute but fell just 4 minutes after making contact with one of the Damak players who left the pitch.
In the same context, tests showed that Cuellar had a calf injury, would undergo remedial training and would not return until the end of the season. But Al-Hilal would benefit from the return of Abdullah Atif from his injury recovery and could replace Cuellar in midfield alongside Salman Al-Faraj.
Al-Hilal will throw all their weight to win, as any misstep can deprive a large percentage of the opportunity to compete for the league. In the ranks of Al-Hilal, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Muhammad Al-Buraik, Salman Al-Faraj, Salem Al-Dosari, Malian Musa Mariga, Nigerian Odion Ighalo, the league’s top scorer, as well as Brazilian Michael Delgado and his compatriot Matthews Pereira stand out .
