JEDDAH, 3 April 2005 — Saudi teams, Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad, will restart their campaign in the Arab Championship League today and tomorrow.
Ahli, which advanced after finishing second in Group D, will face a tough opponent Al-Ismaili of Egypt, which topped Group C, at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. Ahli will have to put their best put forward against a very strong team with an excellent attacking line. Ahli is already handicapped with the absence of captain Hussein Abdul Ghani, who sits out the game after receiving two yellow cards.
Ahli, however, will be banking on their international players, who were doing duty with the national team, to pick up their performance.
In the meantime, Ahli’s Brazilian striker, Keem, expressed his readiness to return to the team after injury. He promised Ahli fans to make up for his absence by scoring in this important match.
Tomorrow, Hilal and Ittihad will face two tough opponents.
In Riyadh, Hilal, who qualified after finishing second in Group C, will take on Al-Wedad of Morocco, who finished first in Group D. Ittihad have already left for Algeria to face another tough team MC Algiers in an away match.
Ahli will again face Al-Ismaili in Egypt on April 26, Hilal go against Al-Wedad in Morocco on April 20, and Ittihad play MC Algiers on April 23 in Jeddah.
