Preview:Al-Hilal vs Al Riyadh - prediction, team news, lineups

Title-favourites Al-Hilal get their Saudi Pro League campaign underway at home to Al Riyadh this Friday evening at the Kingdom Arena.

Al-Hilal failed in their defence of the title last season, losing out to Al-Ittihad, but they have hired Simone Inzaghi as manager in hopes of wrestling back Saudi supremacy.

Match preview

Since the explosion of money being spent on the Saudi game, Al-Hilal do not enjoy the dominance they once did, as Al-Ittihad beat them to the title for the second time in three years last season.

Al-Hilal have still been champions in six of the last nine years, but increasing competition means they will continue to find it tough, despite adding big names in Theo Hernandez and Darwin Nunez this summer.

Finishing eight points adrift of the champions was disappointing, and dropping 10 points at home across the season is what was their downfall, so it is imperative they get off to a strong start here in familiar surroundings.

Bolstering their attack further may not have been necessary, given that Al-Hilal scored 95 goals in 34 games, but their closest challengers have also strengthened significantly, so improvement was required.

Form in early 2025 was very poor and ultimately cost Al-Hilal the title, with a 1-1 draw against their upcoming opponents being one of those underwhelming results, before they were beaten in the AFC Champions League semi-finals by Al-Ahli, but they did make up for it with a strong showing at the Club World Cup, that has certainly done the Saudi Pro League the world of good.

In Inzaghi’s first few matches in charge, they remained unbeaten in a group containing Real Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Pachuca, before going on to beat Manchester City 4-3 in a thrilling last-16 tie.

The goals have kept on flowing in preseason, as Inzaghi’s men beat both Balingen and Aarau of Switzerland, scoring six goals on each occasion.

Al Riyadh bring woeful form into the new season, and despite getting a 1-1 draw here last season, they have lost the other three encounters since their promotion in 2023, conceding 12 goals.

The visitors won just two of their final 16 games of last season from February onwards, and only survived thanks to the points they amassed earlier in the campaign.

Eventually, Al Riyadh finished 11th, an improvement on the 14th-place finish from the previous year, but only five points clear of the drop, so they are certainly treading water.

With Neom SC being one of the promoted clubs this season, they are expected to instantly challenge towards the top, meaning one of those who languished in the bottom half last season could be in deeper trouble this time around.

It is a tough start for manager Javier Calleja, who replaced Sabri Lamouchi over the summer, as his side start with away games to Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, so the fixture in between against Al Najma will be vital.

Preseason has not gone well though, because they failed to win any of their four friendlies, losing three, including most recently against Ibiza, where they lost 5-2.

Al-Hilal Preseason form:

W W

Al Riyadh Preseason form:

L D L L

Team News

Many will be keeping an on whether Nunez and Hernandez make their debuts after big-money moves from European football, but an underrated addition is that of Abderrazak Hamdallah, on loan from Al-Shabab.

Hamdallah has scored 129 goals in 137 games since moving to the SPL in 2018, and he could well outperform some of the more reputable names in the squad.

For the first time in 13 years though, full-back Yasser Al Shahrani will not be part of the Al Hilal squad, as he has returned to his former club Al-Qadsiah on a free transfer.

After a poor end to last season and a change in management, Al Riyadh have signed a whopping 13 players over the summer, and could look entirely different to how they did against Al-Ahli on the final day.

Few of the new additions are bringing much top-level experience to the squad though, and they have also lost last season’s top scorer Faiz Selemani to Qatar SC.

Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:

Bono; Joao Cancelo, Koulibaly, Tambakti, Hernandez; Ruben Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Kanno; Malcolm, Nunez, S Al Dawsari

Al Riyadh possible starting lineup:

Borjan; Al Essa, Barbet, Hazazi, Sergio Gonzalez, Al Tumbukti; Bayesh, Sackey, Toze, Sahlouli; Ramirez

We say: Al-Hilal 7-0 Al Riyadh

Al Riyadh have assembled an entirely new squad for this season, but remain among the favourites for relegation, and could not have been handed a tougher start against Al-Hilal’s all-stars, who could easily run riot here if they are on their game.

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