Al Hilal’s Ideal Start Threatened by Immortality in the Saudi Roshan Professional League

The current season has witnessed a clear extension of the distinguished local journey that Saudi Al Hilal has been undergoing since last season, where it won all the championships possible.

Al Hilal has had an ideal start to all the tournaments so far, both locally and continentally, as it won the Saudi Super Cup title at the expense of Al Ahli and Al Nasr, and also won all the Elite League and AFC Champions League matches.

However, that ideal start threatened to come to a screeching halt within hours when the team played in the fifth round of the Saudi Roshan Professional League.

The reason behind this threat lies in the team’s upcoming match against Immortality, a team that has just come from the Yellow League and has never faced Al Hilal before.

A Closed Book for Al Hilal

Immortality is a tightly closed book for Al Hilal and its technical director Jorge Jesus, who is enjoying the best years of his coaching career in and out of Europe.

The absence of previous clashes between the two teams leaves Al Hilal facing the unknown, especially since the match is being played at the Al Khulud Stadium in front of its fans.

A Tough Match Ahead

Glancing at Al-Khuloud’s results, an Al-Hilal fan might think that his side will face a rather easy battle with the opposition having managed just one win this season.

However, this belief is not true, as Al-Khulaud played really tough matches, and as a team coming from the first division, they don’t need to score many points in them.

The loss to Al-Ittihad, who are currently leading on goal difference and one match ahead of Al-Hilal, cannot be described as a great defeat, especially since it came with a single goal in the last minute of the match.

Absence of Key Players Complicates the Situation

Al Hilal will enter this clash with some absences that could affect the outcome of the match, especially as it relates to very important elements.

The start will be the absence of Ruben Neves, Al Hilal’s best midfielder this season and one of the team’s best stars in general.

Newcomer Miteb Al-Harbi, who plays in the full-back position, will also be absent, meaning Al-Zaim will face the absence of two men among its most prominent stars.

Immortality’s New Signings Add to the Challenge

It doesn’t just depend on the absence of some of Al Hilal’s stars, some of the deals Al Khulud have made by coming to the Roshan League will make the match even more complicated for Al Hilal.

Perhaps the most prominent of these deals is Mohamed Jahfali, who has played for Al-Jaime for years and knows the ins and outs of the club.

The presence of former Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe, the likes of Jackson Muleka, Alex Quiado and Aliu Dieng, who were one of the reasons Al-Jeddawi won the league title last season, all make the challenge of immortality more difficult.