Al Ittihad find themselves in a hole as they prepare to host Al-Hilal in the second leg of that AFC Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday at King Abdullah Sports City.
In the opening leg, the reigning Saudi Pro League champions saw their four-match unbeaten run in this competition end, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Al-Hilal.
Match preview
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Nadi Al-Sha'ab's hopes of advancing into the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time since 2012 took a hit last week.
Marcelo Gallardo's men need to win by at least two goals to have any hope of prolonging their Champions League campaign, something they have only done once at home in 2024 (a 2-0 win versus Al-Riyadh in February).
So far this year, they have a 100% record at home in all competitions, scoring two goals in all four of those triumphs after ending 2023 on a two-match home losing run.
The club from Jeddah have never advanced from a Champions League knockout tie when behind after the opening leg since defeating Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 5-0 in the 2004 final and lifting the trophy for the first time that year.
Al Ittihad have not lost consecutive Champions League knockout fixtures since the 2014 tournament, when Al-Ain beat them twice in the quarter-finals.
Although their chances of advancing may be bleak, their past history against Al-Hilal suggests there may be a glimmer of hope as Nadi Al-Watan have never lost at home to them in this competition, claiming a 3-1 triumph in the 2011 round of 16.
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We are over two months into 2024, and Al-Hilal are showing no signs of slowing down, boasting a 100% record in every encounter played this year.
Jorge Jesus's side have won 21 of 23 matches in the Saudi Pro League this season, building up a 12-point lead atop the table, while they have won 29 successive games in all competitions.
The Riyadh-based side are also a perfect 4-0 away from home in the Champions League this season, outscoring their opponents by a combined margin of 10-1.
If there is a minor criticism of Al-Zaeem in this competition, it could be that they have sometimes taken a while to get going, conceding the opening goal on three occasions, including twice in the knockout stage.
Al-Hilal have never been eliminated from a knockout tie when leading after the opening leg and have not lost a second leg game at this tournament since the 2019 Champions League semi-finals (4-2 versus Al-Sadd).
They have already defeated Al Ittihad twice this month and are on a four-match winning run against them away from home, posting two clean sheets in those triumphs.
Team News
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For this decisive match, Al Ittihad will be without N'Golo Kante, who was given a straight red card in the second half last Tuesday, while there are suggestions that fellow Frenchman Karim Benzema is dealing with chronic pain after a photo surfaced of him with several objects on his back in a type of therapy called 'hijama', which apparently helps with that issue.
Ahmed Bamsaud, Ahmed Sharahili and Abdullah Al-Jadaani are all expected to be sidelined for this encounter because of cruciate ligament tears.
Saad Al Mousa and Talal Haji each found the back of the net for them in Saudi Pro League action on Friday, as they defeated Al Akhdoud 2-1.
Neymar remains out for Al-Hilal with a cruciate ligament tear, while Kalidou Koulibaly made his first appearance in the knockout stage, playing in a back four alongside Saud Abdulhamid, Ali Al-Bulaihi and Yasser Al-Shahrani.
Mohammed Al-Qahtani saw the field last Tuesday for the first time in the Champions League since matchday five, while Hassan Al-Tambakti was on the bench for the first time in the knockout stage of this tournament.
Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored in three successive Champions League affairs and is tied with Cryzan for the most goals at this tournament (eight), as he and Salem Al-Dawsari netted late in the first half of this opening leg, while Mohammed Al-Owais collected a clean sheet in place of Bono.
Al Ittihad possible starting lineup:
Al-Mayouf; Al-Olayan, Al Mousa, Hegazi, Kadesh; Al-Sahafi, Al-Ghamdi, Fabinho, Hawsawi; Romarinho, Hamdallah
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Al-Owais; Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, Al-Bulaihi, N. Al-Dawsari; Al-Qahtani, Neves, Al-Faraj; Malcom, Mitrovic, S. Al-Dawsari
We say: Al Ittihad 0-2 Al-Hilal (Al-Hilal advance 4-0 on aggregate)
Al-Hilal have been relentless throughout this competition, and it is hard to imagine their momentum being stalled by a side who have been inconsistent throughout the campaign and will be missing a man who was at one time considered the best defensive midfielder in the world in Kante.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
