Contents
- Competition: AFC Champions League &— Quarter-Finals 2nd leg
- Date: Tuesday, 12nd, March 2024
- Kickoff: 19:00 UTC / 20.00 CET
- Venue: King Abdullah Sports City (Jeddah)
After falling behind by two goals in last week’s opening leg in Riyadh, Al Ittihad will aim to overtake Al Hilal’s lead in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Al-Ittihad vs Al-Hilal Betting Tips: Al-Hilal to Win
Al Ittihad, the current champions of the Saudi Pro League, are set to face off against the imminent national champions, Al Hilal, in a much-anticipated showdown. This will be their fifth encounter this season, taking place on Wednesday. Al Hilal, also known as the Blue Waves, will be aiming to maintain their flawless head-to-head record, having triumphed in all previous four matches. This includes a decisive 2-0 win in the first leg of the AFC Champions League quarterfinals.
After securing a two-goal lead on their home field last week, Al Hilal is on the verge of reaching their third consecutive African top club competition semifinal. They are also aiming to win the tournament for the third time in the last five editions, a goal that is within their reach given their formidable team’s ability to deliver victories. This would not be surprising as they have consistently shown their capacity for success.
Following a superb performance in the AFC, Jorge Jesus’s team maintained their domestic superiority, pulling off an impressive comeback from being a goal behind to secure a strong 3-1 away win against Al Riyadh. This victory marked their 27th consecutive win, breaking the world record for the most successive wins in official matches. This record was previously held by the Welsh team, The New Saints.
The current Saudi champions, Al Ittihad, have almost no chance of reaching the top four in the Champions League on African soil for the first time in 12 years. Their performance this season has been chaotic, and their title defense is far out of reach, with a massive 25-point gap separating them from the league leaders.
It’s even more worrying that the Jeddah-based club has struggled to secure victories recently. This was evident a few days ago when they had to exert maximum effort to narrowly beat Al Akhdoud, a team threatened with relegation, with a score of 2-1. This hard-won victory allowed them to break free from their streak of consecutive losses.
Coming in with rather shaky confidence, Nadi Al-Sha’ab might find themselves on the wrong end of trying to overturn Tuesday’s opponents’ lead because, aside from lackluster recent performances, they will be missing the pivotal French duo N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema. Moreover, Al Hilal has shown no mercy to Ittihad’s backline, netting an average of four goals per game in their four victories this season, which is another reason why we believe in another demolition by the Blue Waves.
Al Ittihad vs Al Hilal Head to Head (H2H) stats
-
05 mar 24
Al Hilal
2 : 0
Al Ittihad
AFC Champions League
-
01 mar 24
Al Hilal
3 : 1
Al Ittihad
Pro League
-
01 sep 23
Al Ittihad
3 : 4
Al Hilal
Pro League
-
05 aug 23
Al Ittihad
1 : 3
Al Hilal
Arab Club Championship
-
16 may 23
Al Hilal
2 : 2
Al Ittihad
Pro League
Al-Ittihad team news
Al Ittihad will be missing defensive pair Ahmed Sharahili and Ahmed Bamasud who have been ruled out of all action for the rest of the current campaign, suffering from cruciate ligament tears.
However, what will be a major blow for Nadi Al-Sha’ab is the fact that they won’t be able to call upon the top-class French striker Karim Benzema, who is dealing with a chronic discomfort, while his compatriot N’Golo Kante will miss Tuesday’s showdown against Al Hilal due to receiving a red card in the opening leg in Riyadh.
Last matches of Al Ittihad
-
08 mar 24
Al Ittihad
2 : 1
Al Akhdoud
Pro League
-
05 mar 24
Al Hilal
2 : 0
Al Ittihad
AFC Champions League
-
01 mar 24
Al Hilal
3 : 1
Al Ittihad
Pro League
-
26 feb 24
Al Ittihad
2 : 1
Al Wahda Mecca
Pro League
-
22 feb 24
Al Ittihad
2 : 1
Navbakhor
AFC Champions League
Al Ittihad lineup
Goalkeeper
-
1
Abdullah Al-Mayouf
Defenders
-
15
Hassan Kadesh
-
26
Ahmed Hegazy
-
30
Saad Al-Mousa
-
33
Madallah Al-Olayan
Midfielders
-
12
Zakaria Hawsawi
-
8
Fabinho
-
16
Faisal Al-Ghamdi
-
17
Marwan Al-Sahafi
Forwards
-
99
Abderrazak Hamdallah
-
90
Romarinho
Al-Hilal team news
Brazilian superstar Neymar will remain sidelined for at least another two months with a cruciate ligament tear, and the 32-year-old winger will be pulling out all the stops to recover in time for the potential AFC Champions League final slated for late April in Saudi Arabia.
While he missed the two-legged AFC Champions League round of 16 tie against Iranian side Sepahan, where his team secured a convincing 6-2 aggregate victory, Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly made his first knockout stage appearance last week against Al Ittihad and is expected to be reintegrated by coach Jorge Jesus.
Last matches of Al Hilal
-
08 mar 24
Al Riyadh
1 : 3
Al Hilal
Pro League
-
05 mar 24
Al Hilal
2 : 0
Al Ittihad
AFC Champions League
-
01 mar 24
Al Hilal
3 : 1
Al Ittihad
Pro League
-
26 feb 24
Al Ettifaq
0 : 2
Al Hilal
Pro League
-
22 feb 24
Al Hilal
3 : 1
Sepahan
AFC Champions League
Al Hilal lineup
Goalkeeper
-
21
Mohammed Al-Owais
Defenders
-
16
Nasser Al-Dawsari
-
5
Ali Al-Bulayhi
-
3
Kalidou Koulibaly
-
66
Saud Abdulhamid
Midfielders
-
7
Salman Al-Faraj
-
8
Ruben Neves
-
56
Mohammed Al-Qahtani
Forwards
-
29
Salem Al-Dawsari
-
9
Aleksandar Mitrovic
-
77
Malcom
4 Reasons why we expect Al-Hilal to Win
- In all competitions, Al-Hilal has consecutively won their last 27 matches.
- In 21 consecutive competitive matches, Al-Hilal has managed to score at least two goals.
- In all four encounters this season, Al-Hilal has surpassed Al-Ittihad, scoring 12 goals throughout.
- Al-Ittihad will not have key players N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema for the upcoming match.
Main prediction Al Ittihad &— Al Hilal
Al Hilal to win
Best Odds:
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