Al-Hilal Riyadh
In the first round of the Saudi Pro League, Al-Hilal will host Al Faisaly at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, with kick-off set for 14 August 2026 at 19:00 BST.
The gulf in class is enormous, but the opening context matters more for the handicap: Al-Hilal start the season without Salem Al-Dawsari, Hassan Al-Tambakti and Hamad Al-Yami, while Al Faisaly have completed a full training camp after earning promotion in convincing fashion.
Al-Faisaly returned to the top flight through more than just a fortunate play-off. Last season, they finished second in the First Division: 73 points, 21 wins, 10 draws and only three defeats in 34 matches. Their goal difference (+44) is an important factor for this handicap: the promoted side were not only able to pick up points but also rarely fell apart.
The squad was significantly strengthened in the summer to meet Pro League standards. Alexandre Mendy, who won the French Ligue 2 Golden Boot with 22 goals, was brought in to lead the line, while goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco also arrived, with the club completing seven foreign transfers in total. Al-Faisaly won three of their four training-camp matches, with Mendy already scoring in the 3:1 win over Beltinci.
Al-Hilal finished last season's league campaign second with 84 points and have far greater individual quality: Karim Benzema, Ruben Neves, Malcom, Kalidou Koulibaly, with Crysencio Summerville joining in the summer. However, they have not approached the opening round in ideal shape. They lost 0:2 to MC Alger and drew 3:3 with Qatar's Al-Ahli in their last two friendlies.
There are absences too. Salem Al-Dawsari is recovering from knee tendon surgery, while Hassan Tambakti and Hamad Al-Yami are also still undergoing rehabilitation. Without Al-Dawsari, the hosts lose one of their key attacking players, while Tambakti's absence limits their defensive options.
For this bet to lose, Al-Hilal need to establish at least a three-goal margin straight away. That is a demanding requirement for the favourites in the opening round: Al-Faisaly arrive after a season with only three defeats and a strong training camp, while the hosts are not yet at full strength. It makes more sense to back the promoted side with a two-goal cushion.
|
Simone Inzaghi
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Yassine Bounou
|
gk. | 1 | 0 |
|
Ali bin Mohammed bin Ali Lajami
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Kalidou Koulibaly
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Moteb Al Harbi
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Mohamed Kanno
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
|
Mohammed bin Mater bin Mohsen Mahzari
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
|
Rúben Neves
|
mf. | 1 | 2 |
|
Sergej Milinković-Savić
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
|
Crysencio Jilbert Sylverio Cirro Summerville
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
|
Karim Mostafa Benzema
|
fw. | 1 | 1 |
|
Malcom Filipe Silva de Oliveira
|
fw. | 1 | 1 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Meshal Sulaiman F. Al Dawood
|
0 | 0 | |
|
Mohammed bin Faraj bin Saeed Al Rubaie Al Yami
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Mohammed bin Khalil bin Ibrahim Al Owais
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Murad bin Othman bin Harun Al Hawsawi
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
|
Nasser bin Essa bin Shafi Al Shardan Al Dawsari
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
|
Nawaf bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Habashi
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Mohamed Meïté
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
|
Sultan Ahmed Mohammed Mandash
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
|
Sabri Abdu Hussain Dahal
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Giovanni Solinas
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Fernando Pacheco Flores
|
gk. | 1 | -3 |
|
Abdoulaye Seck
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Andrei Girotto
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Khalid bin Obaid bin Buthi Al Harbi
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Mohammed Ali Ramadan Al Shanqiti
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Jaime Seoane Valenciano
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
|
Théo Bongonda Mbul'Ofeko Batombo
|
mf. | 1 | 1 |
|
Abdulrahman Al Sharif
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Mogren
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
|
Alexandre Mendy
|
fw. | 1 | 1 |
|
Christian Bassogog
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Saud Thamer Haddad
|
0 | 0 | |
|
Mohammed bin Jafar bin Ali Al Hasawi
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Ahmad Al Mhemaid
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Ayman bin Yousef bin Ibrahim Fallatah
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Mohammed Yahya Saghir Jahfali
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Yaseen bin Omar bin Bakr Barnawi
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Abdullah Ibrahim Abdulaziz bin Subayr Subayt
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Eid bin Mohammed bin Saeed Al Muwallad
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
André-Jordy Ella
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Al-Hilal Riyadh
|
|
7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 23:5 | 18 |
|
2
|
Al-Ittihad
|
|
7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12:6 | 17 |
|
3
|
Al-Nassr
|
|
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16:7 | 16 |
|
4
|
Qadsia SC
|
|
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16:8 | 16 |
|
5
|
Neom SC
|
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13:6 | 15 |
|
6
|
Al-Ahli Jeddah
|
|
7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 16:10 | 12 |
|
7
|
Al Kholood
|
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12:10 | 12 |
|
8
|
Draih
|
|
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7:5 | 11 |
|
9
|
Al-Ettifaq
|
|
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11:11 | 11 |
|
10
|
Al Hazm
|
|
7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7:9 | 8 |
|
11
|
Al-Riyadh
|
|
7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8:16 | 8 |
|
12
|
Al-Feiha FC
|
|
7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7:11 | 6 |
|
13
|
Al Khaleej
|
|
7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3:10 | 5 |
|
14
|
Al-Shabab Riyadh
|
|
7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6:11 | 4 |
|
15
|
Al-Fateh
|
|
7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4:11 | 3 |
|
16
|
Al Faisaly Harmah
|
|
7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5:13 | 3 |
|
17
|
Al-Taawoun
|
|
7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3:12 | 3 |
|
18
|
Abha
|
|
7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5:13 | 2 |
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Al-Ittihad
|
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8:5 | 10 |
|
2
|
Al-Nassr
|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7:2 | 9 |
|
3
|
Neom SC
|
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9:5 | 9 |
|
4
|
Al-Ahli Jeddah
|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12:1 | 9 |
|
5
|
Al Kholood
|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8:4 | 9 |
|
6
|
Qadsia SC
|
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9:7 | 7 |
|
7
|
Al-Hilal Riyadh
|
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7:4 | 6 |
|
8
|
Al-Riyadh
|
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3:4 | 6 |
|
9
|
Al-Ettifaq
|
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6:8 | 4 |
|
10
|
Al Hazm
|
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2:2 | 4 |
|
11
|
Al-Feiha FC
|
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5:7 | 4 |
|
12
|
Al Khaleej
|
|
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2:6 | 3 |
|
13
|
Al-Taawoun
|
|
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0:6 | 3 |
|
14
|
Draih
|
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1:4 | 2 |
|
15
|
Al-Shabab Riyadh
|
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4:8 | 2 |
|
16
|
Al Faisaly Harmah
|
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2:6 | 2 |
|
17
|
Al-Fateh
|
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1:3 | 1 |
|
18
|
Abha
|
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2:4 | 1 |
| # | Team | Form | Matches played | W | D | L | G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Al-Hilal Riyadh
|
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16:1 | 12 |
|
2
|
Qadsia SC
|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7:1 | 9 |
|
3
|
Draih
|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6:1 | 9 |
|
4
|
Al-Ittihad
|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4:1 | 7 |
|
5
|
Al-Nassr
|
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9:5 | 7 |
|
6
|
Al-Ettifaq
|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5:3 | 7 |
|
7
|
Neom SC
|
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4:1 | 6 |
|
8
|
Al Hazm
|
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5:7 | 4 |
|
9
|
Al-Ahli Jeddah
|
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4:9 | 3 |
|
10
|
Al Kholood
|
|
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4:6 | 3 |
|
11
|
Al-Riyadh
|
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5:12 | 2 |
|
12
|
Al-Feiha FC
|
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2:4 | 2 |
|
13
|
Al Khaleej
|
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1:4 | 2 |
|
14
|
Al-Shabab Riyadh
|
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2:3 | 2 |
|
15
|
Al-Fateh
|
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3:8 | 2 |
|
16
|
Al Faisaly Harmah
|
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3:7 | 1 |
|
17
|
Abha
|
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3:9 | 1 |
|
18
|
Al-Taawoun
|
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3:6 | 0 |
