After 16 matchdays, the Saudi Pro League landscape for this season is starting to take shape, with Al-Hilal leading the top flight. The absence of their star, Neymar, doesn’t seem to bother Jorge Jesus and the rest of the team, as they continue to obliterate every adversary that comes their way in the Saudi Pro League and even in the Saudi King’s Cup.
Meanwhile, teams in the middle of the pack claw their way up in hopes of separating themselves from the tight midfield battle. Every victory earned from this point on holds high dividends for the outcome of the teams, which is why fans should expect a competitive and cutthroat second half of the Saudi League Pro season.
Without further ado, continue reading below, as SBOTOP is here to preview some of the marquee matchups for the upcoming Saudi Pro League matchday.
Al-Hilal vs Al-Wehda
Al-Hilal remain as the only undefeated team in the Saudi Pro League with a record of 14-2-0. After 16 matches, Jorge Jesus’ team garnered a whopping 44 points, seven points above second-placed Al-Nassr.
They look to extend their lead and dominance in the Saudi top flight when they host Al-Wehda at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium.
Serbian Aleksandar Mitrovic shoulders the offencive load for Al Hilal, scoring 14 total goals, placing him second in the list of the top scorers in the Saudi Pro League behind Portuguese legend and one of the best long shooters of the game Cristiano Ronaldo (16) and above Cameroon native Georges-Kévin N’Koudou (13).
Aside from their dominance in the Saudi top flight, Al-Hilal are also steamrolling in the Saudi King’s Cup, where they comfortably breezed through Al-Taawoun in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory, securing their spot in the semifinals.
Despite the absence of Neymar, Al-Hilal have still managed to produce favourable Saudi Pro League 2023 results. Aleksandar Mitrovic is the player who stepped up in the absence of Neymar. During their match against Al-Taawoun in the King’s Cup quarterfinal, the Serbian striker continued his goal-getting streak to seven consecutive games.
In contrast to Al-Hilal’s spotless campaign, Al-Wehda are having somewhat of a shaky season in the Saudi Pro League. With a record of 7-1-8 after 16 games, Al-Wehda are currently in the ninth spot of the league standings garnering 22 points, with Al Feiha breathing down their necks.
They’ve won three of their last five games, alternating wins and losses since November. Georgios Donis aims to find consistency from his club moving forward, but they have a tall task of doing so against a seemingly invincible Al-Hilal.
Al Feiha vs Al-Ahli Saudi
Al-Ahli are having a Cinderella run in the top flight this season. They’re on a meteoric rise in the Saudi Pro League, given that they were just in the Saudi First Division last season. Well, given their shopping spree, acquiring the likes of Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin, and many more, it was only a matter of time until the Saudi team would make strides in the top flight.
Al-Ahli were poised to compete for the top spot in the league standings a few weeks ago, but after tallying three draws in their last five games, they find themselves dropping to the third spot, tying Al-Taawoun with 31 points.
Luckily for them, they face off against a struggling Al Feiha squad on the next matchday of the season. To start the season, Al Feiha hoped to improve on their 2022–23 season, where they finished 11th in the standings, but their mediocre start to this season find themselves right where they were when they ended last season’s campaign.
After 16 games, Al Feiha are 7-1-8 with 19 points. They find themselves in the tenth spot of the league standings and have all the clubs from 11th to 14th within striking distance. Vuk Rašović and his team are having a rough stretch of football, losing two, drawing two, and winning just one game in their last five.
Al-Ettifaq vs Al-Taawoun
Like Al Feiha, Al-Ettifaq and Al-Taawoun are virtually in the same position where they ended last season. Amidst a mediocre season, Moussa Dembélé has been a bright spot for Al-Ettifaq. The former Tottenham Hotspur is singlehandedly carrying the offencive responsibilities for Steven Gerrard, scoring almost half of the total goals scored by Al-Ettifaq this season.
Ettifaq are currently on a winless drought for the past five weeks in the top flight, and they hope to end their curse against a formidable Al-Taawoun squad.
Péricles Chamusca and the rest of the team were looking like a prime contender to win the King’s Cup, thrashing Al Qadisiya and Al Wehda in back-to-back 2-0 clean-sheet victories. But their convincing run ended when they got a taste of their own medicine in the quarterfinals, suffering a 3-0 clean-sheet loss to Al-Hilal.
Nonetheless, they are still one of the Saudi Pro League 2023 odds favourites and are looking to quickly bounce back from their humbling loss against the mighty Al-Hilal. They’ll have a tough slate for the remainder of the year, having to go against Al-Ettifaq, Al Fateh, and Al-Nassr. But given how Chamusca’s team has been playing, Al-Taawoun will definitely play inspiring football no matter who they face.
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