Al-Hilal, the defending champion, wants revenge on Al-Faihaa, who thwarted him more than once last season, when he receives it today, Wednesday, in the second stage of the Saudi Football League.
At the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Al Hilal are looking for their second victory, but their next opponent was a stumbling block for them last season when they narrowly won the title from Al Ittihad.
He equalized in the first leg without goals and then beat him 1–0 in the second leg, but his most outstanding result was a penalty win in the Copa del Rey final.
Al Hilal pulled off a well-deserved victory over Gulf in the first leg despite some gaps, and Brazil’s Michel Delgado is expected to return after recovering from the injury that hampered him in the last match.
Nigeria’s top scorer Odion Ighalo expressed his satisfaction with Al Hilal’s strong start and said after: “Starting is always difficult, but we have achieved the main thing.”
He added: “Since last season we have had an outstanding group of players, so over time we will reach the highest level and we are now focused on what we will offer this season.”
In turn, the Brazilian winger Mateos Pereira said: “In the first match against Gulf, we showed an excellent level, despite the difficulty of the opponent, and it is important to win from the very beginning.”
On the other hand, Al Faihaa’s start was not a good one as they lost to Damak, although it was the better side in terms of possession and control. It is expected that Nigerian Anthony Nwakimi and Serbian striker Milan Pavkov will become his partner.
Al Bateen × Al Fatah
An injured Al-Batin faces his colleague Al-Fateh in the garage locker room, where the two teams lost in the first round. Al-Batin lost three hard losses to his host Al-Shabab, while Al-Fateh received a painful defeat at home and among his fans, thanks to cooperation with a pure double.