Preview: Al-Hilal vs. Al Hazem - prediction, team news, lineups

Unbeaten in this fixture since 2018, Al-Hilal host promoted Al Hazem at Kingdom Arena on Thursday in the 14th round of the Saudi Pro League, aiming to maintain their spot at the top of the table.

Simone Inzaghi’s men head into this gameweek fresh from leapfrogging Al-Nassr, and another victory guarantees they will keep their place.

Match preview

Having been neck-and-neck with Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal have taken advantage of their title challengers failing to win two games either side of the New Year to edge one point ahead.

Inzaghi’s team have remained incredibly consistent across all competitions since drawing a league game at Al-Ahli in September.

That rip-roaring 3-3 draw marked Al-Za’eem’s second stalemate in their opening four games in the top flight; since then, the club have won nine league games in a row and 17 in all competitions.

While clean sheets have been a rarity in the league — where only four of those nine wins have witnessed shutouts — Inzaghi’s team typically enjoy a healthy spread of goals: they have netted twice on three occasions and scored three or more in five fixtures.

With margins so tight at the top of the division, supporters will demand another strong showing on Thursday, aware of their team’s impressive run against the promoted visitors.

Al-Hilal enter this week’s round without a loss in eight meetings with Al Hazem, winning six during that period since a 2-1 defeat in December 2018.

The travelling fans may dread another encounter with the 19-time Saudi champions, considering their recent record against this week’s hosts.

Al Hazem have scored just one goal across four consecutive losses while conceding a staggering 18.

One of those defeats included a 9-0 hammering at the hands of the current league leaders in November 2023, before they suffered a 4-1 loss in the reverse fixture in Riyadh.

While Jalel Kadri’s troops have had a commendable start after returning to the league, heading to the home of a team they typically struggle against might cause significant concern.

It helps little that 11th-placed Hazem Al-Samood head into Thursday having recently seen their three-match unbeaten run end against fellow promoted side Neom, after they had secured seven points from the final three games of 2025.

However, they can draw inspiration from a five-match unbeaten run away from home, winning three of those fixtures and scoring two goals in four of them — securing 2-1 wins over Al Okhdood, Al Kholood and Al Riyadh and drawing 2-2 at Al Ettifaq.

Whether that recent goalscoring form stands them in good stead remains to be seen, but the Rass-based club head to Riyadh with the confidence of several positive results under their belt.

Al-Hilal Saudi Pro League form:

Al-Hilal form (all competitions):

Al Hazem Saudi Pro League form:

Team News

Salem Al-Dawsari missed Sunday’s win at Damac, and the wide attacker will be assessed before the 14th round.

Also absent are Bono and Kalidou Koulibaly due to Africa Cup of Nations duty, with Morocco and Senegal involved in the quarter-finals.

While seven-goal forward Marcos Leonardo has outscored his teammates, his two match-winning goals are tied with Theo Hernandez and Ruben Neves.

However, he is outdone for total goal contributions, with Darwin Nunez (five goals and three assists) and Malcom (four goals and four assists) ahead of him in that category.

Al Hazem did not suffer any apparent injuries in their recent defeat by Neom, but Kadri could still be without Saud Al-Rashed and Abdulaziz Al-Duwayhi, while Omar Al Somah will be assessed after missing the recent loss.

Having been eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations, South African winger Elias Mokwana could return to the squad this week.

Although Fabio Martins and Al-Somah are the leading scorers for the visitors, Martins has not scored since early November, while Al-Somah has found the net in three of his last four league appearances.

Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:

Al-Rubaie; Al-Yami, Tambakti, Neves, Al-Harbi; Malcom, Milinkovic-Savic, Kanno, Hernandez; Leonardo, Nunez

Al Hazem possible starting lineup:

Varela; Al-Yami, Al-Dakheel, Boutouil, Al-Nakhli; Lorientz, Al-Sayyali; Al-Shamrani, Carvalho, Martins; Al-Habashi