Last Wednesday, Hilal gave up the No. 1 position to Ahli and dropped to third after both Ahli and Al-Shabab went past them in the league race. Hilal needs play with their old fervor if they hope to catch up with the league leaders and reclaim their title.
Ahli and Hilal met in the fourth round of the league in Riyadh when the home team went on to log a 4-0 victory. But right now, if things don’t change for Hilal, it seems like the tables will turned on them by Ahli in the return match.
Hilal's best hope of regaining their winning touch was the return of their Swedish player, Christian Welhelmsson, only to realize that he is disqualified for the next three games due to a red card he received in Qatar.
Welhelmsson was on loan to Al-Ahli Qatar and received a violation for purposely hitting another player. Lady luck seems to be smiling at Ahli , who with a good coach and promising foreign players like Victor Simoes and Marcelo Camacho from Brazil, Omani striker Emad Alhosani and Colombian midfielder Jairo Palomino, have been improving with every match to emerge as the league pacesetters.
On the other hand, Hilal lost two Moroccan players Yousef Elarabi and Adil Hermach, who are scheduled to play for their national team for the African Cup of Nations.
Thursday night's match is very crucial to Hilal. This could very well dictate their chances or lack thereof of winning the league. Sports fanatics of Saudi Arabia are indeed in for a very exciting night.
