Al-Hilal prepares to receive Al Riyadh at Kingdom Arena as they attempt to reclaim their spot at the summit of the Saudi Pro League table.
The hosts of Al-Hilal now trail second-place Al-Ittihad by two points after their Saturday draw and their opponents Al-Riyadh occupy fourth spot outside of the top six following their recent defeat.
Their league defence got off to a similar unstoppable start with 43 points from 16 games during which the team claimed five consecutive wins before finishing off January with two heavy victories which led them to defeat Al Fateh 9-0 then Al Wehda 4-1.
Since their last few games the Blue Waves have experienced points losses which only happen four times throughout the campaign first when they lost 2-1 at Al Quadisiya before winning 4-0 against Al Okhdood through multiple Kaio Cesar and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Marcos Leonardo scores.
During their AFC Champions League group-topper status Al-Hilal faced Persepolis in a 4-1 victory then traveled to Damac where Leonardo scored first but Diallo netted his double and Milinkovic-Savic scored a late equalizer.
Al-Hilal currently holds the second position behind Al-Ittihad by two points with a more advantageous goal difference despite scoring a competition-best 59 goals throughout 19 games. The Saudi Arabian team will attempt to gain victory on Friday and reclaim top spot.
After falling two points behind the new leaders over the weekend, Al-Hilal will look to quickly get back to winning ways in their defense of the Saudi Pro League championship on Friday.
With the top six of the Saudi Pro League still in their sights, their guests travel the short distance across the Saudi capital in hopes of finding their own winning ways.
Al Riyadh has had a much better 2024–25 season, garnering 28 points from their first 19 games and matching previous season's total of eight league victories after placing 14th in their first season back in the first division, finishing three points clear of the relegation zone.
Back-to-back wins helped Sabri Lamouchi's team finish 2024 with 21 points from 13 games, but they have since only managed to add seven more to that total in six more attempts, dropping to seventh place. Their only two victories during that time came against Al-Taawoun and Al Wedha at home.
A 5-0 loss at Al-Ahli separated those three-pointers, and last weekend they traveled to Al Kholood and lost 3-2 despite taking an early lead through Ibraheem Bayesh. They were unable to find a way to tie the score after Mohamed Konate cut the deficit to one in the 88th minute.