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

Seeking to move into first-place in the Saudi Professional League, Al-Hilal journey to the Al-Shabab Club Stadium to take on Al Shabab on Saturday. 

Having lost the last three meetings between the two teams, the White Lions will head into the weekend looking to get one over the visitors and strengthen their position in the upper echelons of the table.

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Match preview

Al Shabab failed to move into the top-three places in theSaudi Professional League standings as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Okhdood at the Prince Hathloul bin Abdulaziz Sports City last Friday.  

The White Lions were gifted a first-half lead after Naif Assery inadvertently turned the ball into his own net on the stroke of half time before Knowledge Musona restored parity in the 49th minute.    Prior to that, Al Shabab were on a run of four back-to-back victories across all competitions, including a 2-0 win over Al Riyadh in the round of 16 of the King's Cup courtesy of goals from Harounre Camara and veteran midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura. 

After two back-to-back games on the road, Vitor Pereira's men now return home, where they boast the division's second-best record, having picked up 15 points from their five matches while scoring 14 goals and conceding four so far. 

Al Shabab have picked up 22 points from 11 Pro League matches to sit fourth in the standings, level on points with third-placed Al Nassr and fifth-placed Al Qadsiah. 

On the other hand, Al-Hilal's 100% record on the AFC Champions League came to an end as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar-based Al-Sadd when the sides met at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday. 

Ali Albulayhi broke the deadlock after just 10 minutes to set the visitors on their way but Paulo Otavio struck with 19 minutes remaining on the clock to force a share of the spoil. 

Al-Hilal have now picked up 13 points from a possible 15 to sit second in the Champions League Western Division table, two points off first-placed Al Ahli, who boast a perfect record. 

Jorge Jesus's men now turn their attention to the Pro League, where they suffered their first defeat of the season last Saturday when they were beaten 3-2 by Al-Khaleej after conceding an 85th-minute winner. 

Al-Hilal have picked up nine wins and one draw from their 11 league matches to collect 28 points from a possible 33 to sit second in the table, two points behind first-placed Al Ittihad. 

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Team News

Al Shabab will take to the pitch without the attacking duo of Fahad Al-Muwallad and former Atletico Madrid man Yannick Carrasco, who continue their spells on the sidelines. 

Veteran goalkeeper Seung-gyu Kim has missed each of the last four matches since sustaining a cruciate ligament injury against Al Orubah on October 24 and is out of contention for the hosts. 

Moroccan forward Abderrazak Hamdallah missed the game against Al Okhdood through a muscle injury and the 33-year-old is a major doubt for Saturday's game.   

The absence of Neymar remains the biggest talking point for Al-Hilal, with the 32-year-old expected to return from a hamstring injury in mid-December. 

He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow Brazilian Malcom and experienced midfielder Ruben Neves, who has been sidelined until January through a Patellar tendon rupture. 

Al Shabab possible starting lineup: Bounou; Tambakti, Koulibaly, Al-Bulayhi; Cancelo, Lodi, Kanno, Al Dawsari; Leonardo, Al-Dawsari, Mitrovic

Al-Hilal possible starting lineup: Al-Mayouf; Renan, Hoedt, Al Sharari; Alsebyani, Juwayr, Cuellar, Al-Thain; Guanca, Podence, Bonaventura

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We say: Al Shabab 0-2 Al-Hilal

Al Shabab have put together a fine run of form in recent weeks but are in for a tough 90 minutes against a star-studded Al-Hilal side who are unbeaten in 19 of their last 20 clashes. 

Given the gulf in class and quality between the two teams, we are backing Jesus's men to come away with all three points at the Al-Shabab Club Stadium. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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