Al Hilal will look to maintain their perfect start to the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League season when they compete against each other again Al Fayha at Kingdom Arena on Friday afternoon.

The hosts are three points clear at the top of the table after the first six games of the season, while the guests are in 14th place with five points over the same period.

Game preview

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After clinching the domestic double last season, Al-Hilal started their title defense incredibly well and despite only having played six games in the new season, it looks like they are already destined to make it back-to-back.

The Blue Waves recorded a flawless six wins out of six before the international break and are top of Group B of the AFC Champions League Elite, being one of only two teams in that group, alongside Al Ahli, to have won their first two games.

Jorge JesusThe team was also strong in attack this season and scored an impressive 18 goals in the league competition, half of which went unnoticed Aleksander Mitrovicwho is now two ahead Karim Benzema and four ahead Cristiano Ronaldo in the top scorer list.

The Serbian international scored twice against Al-Malaki in his team's last game, marking his fourth brace of the season. So far this season he has only failed to score in one league game.

Across all competitions, Al-Hilal have played three home games this season and scored 11 goals. In the league, they have an 18-game winning streak, are undefeated in their last 25 games, and have only failed to score two goals or more in two of those games.

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While the hosts are keen to get all three points from this game, it is worth noting that last season Al Fayha were the only team to leave the Kingdom Arena with a 1-1 draw against the champions on the day .

Al-Burtuqali achieved their best-ever finish in the top flight last season with ninth place, but this season they have stumbled out of the starting blocks and are currently just one point ahead of newly promoted Al Kholood, who are the first team below the dotted line is.

boss under Christos KontisThe s team's problem so far this season has been a lack of attacking performance, with the team only scoring five goals this season, which is the third fewest in the division behind Al-Khaleej and basement club Al Fateh.

Furthermore, the Greek tactician is still looking for his first away win since arriving in the Middle East, having lost one and drawn in the last two of his three away games as manager so far.

Despite picking up a point here last season, Al Fayha have remained winless in their last four games against the Blue Waves since May 2022 (W0 D1 L3), being beaten 7-1 by them in that time.

Al-Hilal Saudi Pro League form:

Al Fayha Saudi Pro League form:

Team news

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Al-Hilal suffered a serious injury to their goalkeeper during the international break Yassine Bounou He sustained a muscle injury against the Central African Republic and will therefore have to sit out this game.

The Moroccan goalkeeper will be on the sidelines Neymaralthough the Brazilian has since returned to training and reports suggest he should be fit to resume club duty in the Champions League later this month.

Al Fayha only has one confirmed absentee for this weekend's trip: Henry Onyekuruwho has not played this season due to an injury and is not expected to return until next year.

Mohammed Al Baqawi was withdrawn at half-time in the team's 2-2 draw with Al Wehda before the international break, which could indicate this Makhir Saleh will start at right-back in this game.

Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Al Owais; Al-Shahrani, Koulibaly, Al-Bulaihi, Lodi; Neves, Milinkovic-Savic; Al-Dawsari, Malcolm, Al-Ghannam; Mitrovic

Al Fayha possible starting lineup:
Mosquera; Al-Baqawi, Khaibari, Smalling, Abdi; Sakala, Cimirot, Shukurov, Al-Harthi, Lopez, Pozuelo

We say: Al-Hilal 3:1 Al Fayha

Al-Hilal have already announced themselves as the team to beat in the Pro League this season and given their form so far, we expect them to pick up another fairly comfortable home win this season too.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game, please click here.

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