The Saudi League .. a postponed match to reduce the difference between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad
Al-Hilal seeks to reduce the difference with the leaders Al-Ittihad and preserve its chances of competing for the title, when it meets Al-Ettifaq on Wednesday at Prince Muhammad bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, in a postponed match from the twentieth stage of the Saudi Football League.
Al-Hilal, the defending champion in the last two seasons, has 52 points from 25 matches, compared to 61 by Al-Ittihad, which played more matches and has four matches left in the current version, while the thirteenth agreement struggles not to relegate, as it moves away from the bottom runners-up by an orphan point.
Al-Hilal has historically outperformed its host Al-Ettifaq in the league, as they met 84 previous times, one of them in the golden square.
The agreement, led by its French coach, Patrice Carteron, succeeded in achieving a big victory at the expense of its host Al-Taawoun 4-0, in which it regained balance.
Prominent in the agreement are Algerian goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi, Slovakian Philip Kiss, Tunisian Naim Saliti, Swede Robin Quaison and Mohamed El Kwekibi.
After his sudden loss against Al Fayhaa in a postponed match, Al Hilal quickly returned to the winning streak after defeating Damak 4-2.
And he aspires to overcome the obstacle of the agreement to reduce the point difference with the leading federation to six points, before the El Clasico match that brings them together next Sunday, and in light of its outcome, the course of the championship is determined by a large percentage.
Al-Hilal received a double blow before the decisive stages, after the end of the season of its players, Mutaib Al-Mafraj and Colombian Gustavo Cuellar, due to their injuries in the last Damak match.
Medical examinations confirmed that Al-Mufraj had severed the cruciate ligament in the right knee, but Al-Hilal has not yet determined the date of his surgery.
Al-Mafarrej was a substitute in the 64th minute, but he fell after only 4 minutes, after a contact with one of Damak's players to leave the field.
In the same context, the tests revealed that Cuellar had a calf muscle injury, and he will undergo therapeutic training and will not return before the end of the season.
But Al Hilal will benefit from the return of Abdullah Atif after recovering from the injury, and he may replace Kuyar in the midfield alongside Salman Al-Faraj.
Al Hilal will throw all its weight in order to win, as any stumble may lose a large percentage of the opportunity to compete for the league.
And prominent in the ranks of Al Hilal are Yasser Al-Shahrani, Muhammad Al-Buraik, Salman Al-Faraj, Salem Al-Dosari, Malian Musa Mariga, Nigerian Odion Ighalo, the top scorer in the league, and Brazilian Michael Delgado and his compatriot Matthews Pereira.
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