Al Tai vs Al Hilal: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Published at :December 6, 2023 at 4:59 PM

Modified at :January 14, 2024 at 12:14 AM

Al Tai have lost only once in their last five games

Last time in the Saudi Pro League, Al Tai contested against Al Fateh. It was an away game where they won 1-0. Bernard Mensah scored the solo-winning goal from a penalty spot kick. Al Tai’s last home game was a 7-goal thriller in which they won 4-3 against Al Raed. Now they will host league leaders Al Hilal.

In what was expected to be a really tense affair against Al Nassr, Al Hilal SFC prevailed 3-0. That Saudi league game helped add another 3 points to make it 41 points on the league table. With a seven-point breather from second-placed Al Nassr, they now travel to face 11th-placed Al Tai. Al Tai have made just 17 points in the same period.

Kick-Off:

Friday, 8 December 2023 at 8:30 PM IST (3:00 PM UK)

Location: Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa’ed Stadium

Form

Al Tai (in all competitions): W-W-L-D-W

Al Hilal (in all competitions): W-W-W-W-W

Players to Watch

Bernard Mensah (Al Tai)

Bernard Mensah has scored at least a goal in each of the last four games for Al Tai. He has scored 5 goals in those 4 games in total, out of which 3 have been from the penalty spot. The 29-year-old Ghanaian attacking midfielder has accumulated 9 goals and an assist in the 13 league appearances he made.

Aleksandar Mitrović (Al Hilal)

The former Fulham forward is making the most of his time in Saudi Arabia. After joining Al Hilal this August, Aleksandar Mitrović has been an influential part of the Al Hilal side. Mitrović is only 2 goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League top scorer list. Ronaldo has 15 goals. Mitrović also scored a brace against Ronaldo’s Al Nassr last Saudi league game.

Match Facts

Al Hilal SFC (3.1 goals) are ranked 1st in the number of goals scored per Saudi Pro League game while Al Tai (1.3 goals) are 10th
The hosts have conceded the most penalties this season (6 penalties) while the visitors have been awarded the most penalties (8 penalties)
In the 15 league games, a resounding 9 were kept as clean sheets by Al Hilal SFC

Injury & Team News

The hosts don’t have any other player apart from two cruciate ligament injury victims. Both Hussain Qasim and Abdulkarim Al-Sulaiman will not be participating in any of the remaining 2023-24 season games due to the extent of their injury and expected recovery time. Qasim is a left-back while Al-Sulaiman operates as a centre-back.

Injuries are starting to catch up on the unmistakable side of Al Hilal. Last game against Nassaji Mazandaran in the AFC Champions League they lost primary goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to a muscle injury. He is expected to be back by the end of the month. Apart from Neymar and Muteb Al Mufarrij who have cruciate ligament injuries all of – Yasir Al Shahrani, Nasser Al Dawsari, Mohammed Al Owais, Malcom and Hassan Tambakti, will be back within this month. Centreback Al Bulaihi is suspended due to a red card offence against Al Nassr.

Head to Head

Total Matches – 4

Al Tai wins – 0

Al Hilal wins – 3

Draws – 1

Predicted Lineup

Al Tai predicted lineup (5-4-1):

Al Bagawi (GK); Mohammed, Al Nakhli, Bauer, Roco, Majrashi; Asiri, Semedo, Mensah, Al-Moasher; Al-Haizan

Al Hilal predicted lineup (4-2-3-1):

Alwotayan (GK); Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, K. Al-Dawsari, Al Berik; Milinković-Savić, Neves; Michael, Al-Hamdan, S. Al-Dawsari; Mitrović

Match Prediction for Al Tai vs Al Hilal

With Al Hilal’s main goalkeeper Yassine Bounou down for a few days, the absence is expected to be felt in this game. Also without Malcom as the centre attacking midfielder, the attacking threat might get diluted. Still, a hard-fought away win could be the final result.

Prediction: Al Tai 1-2 Al Hilal

Telecast for Al Tai vs Al Hilal

India – Sony Sports Network

UK – DAZN, Sky Sports

US – ESPN

Nigeria – Sporty TV

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