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High-flying Al-Hilal host a struggling Abha at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Thursday in the Saudi Pro League, aiming to extend their winning run to 11 games.
With 15 wins and two draws, it's safe to say Al-Hilal are on fire at the moment, emerging as favorites to win the league title. Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al-Nassr are 10 points behind them in second, but with a game in hand.
Nonetheless, the Blue Waves have been a class apart, and come into the fixture on the back of 10 consecutive wins. Their last outing resulted in a 2-0 victory over Al-Wehda, as goals from Saud Abdulhamid and Aleksandar Mitrovic earned them all three points.
Al-Hilal are seeing the results of their marquee signings made during the summer, such as Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves. Neymar also joined from PSG but following a good start, he succumbed to an injury and has missed most of their season thus far. Given their results, though, it has hardly mattered.
Meanwhile, Abha are down in 16th position in the Saudi Pro League table with just four wins and 14 points from 17 games. They haven't won in their last five matches, losing four in a row before salvaging a 1-1 draw with Al-Hazm in their last outing.
Grzegorz Krychowiak scored in the 79th minute to cancel out Faiz Salemani's opener, which came just 15 minutes earlier, as Abha ended their losing streak. But with the shadow of relegation still looming large upon them, Zaeem Al-Janoub ought to start picking up wins.
Al-Hilal vs Abha Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been only 14 previous clashes between the sides but Al-Hilal have dominated the fixture so far with 11 wins and just one loss to Abha.
- Abha's only ever win against Al-Hilal came in February 2021, a 3-2 victory away from home.
- Al-Hilal have won their last four clashes with Abha and have scored three goals against them in their last two encounters (3-1 win in August 2023 and 3-0 win in May 2023, both away from home).
- Al-Hilal have won their last 10 games in the Saudi Pro League.
Al-Hilal vs Abha Prediction
Al-Hilal are the overwhelming favorites to prevail in this match given their stupendous run of form right now. Abha are likely to struggle defensively and succumb to a comprehensive loss.
Prediction: Al-Hilal 3-0 Abha
Al-Hilal vs Abha Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Al-Hilal to win
Tip 2 - Goals over/under 2.5: Over 2.5
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No
