Al-Hilal vs Damac. Will the champion slip up against an inconvenient opponent?

On Wednesday, August 28, the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh will host a match between Al-Hilal and Damac as part of the 2nd round of the Saudi Arabian League.

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Al-Hilal vs Damac

Al-Hilal

The team of Portuguese Jorge Jesus started the new campaign as if Al-Hilal's previous triumphant season on the domestic stage had never ended. The current champion and holder of the Saudi Arabian Cup already managed to get hold of a new trophy at the end of the summer of 2024. And what is especially pleasing is that in the Super Cup final (and we are talking about this triumph) they beat their main opponent - Al-Nasr, who even being ahead in the score after the first half did not allow to avoid a rout - 4:1 in favor of Al-Hilal!

After the triumph in the Super Cup, Jesus' charges started the championship "at a leisurely pace", and also with a rout of the opponent. Al-Ahdud was unlucky, having received 3 "dry" goals before the break (Al-Hilal ended up like that - 3:0).

The main players in Jesus' team were the Serbian legionnaires - Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic added another goal.

But the coaching staff gives some other foreign players a break from time to time. Brazilian Malcom especially often uses this option – the former Zenit player is allowed to take breaks more often than others, although he took part in the Super Cup final.

Damac

The team of Romanian coach Cosmin Contra failed to successfully start the new season, despite a fairly decent reinforcement of the squad. Damac's roster was replenished by former Lokomotiv legionary Francois Kamano, as well as goalkeeper Florin Nita - the head coach's compatriot moved from the Turkish championship, but has not yet had time to debut - without him, Damac lost 0:1 to Al-Khalij in the first round.

Probably, Nica will debut against the champion, with whom Damac, it should be noted, has played quite well in recent years. Even in the last, almost ideal season for Al-Hilal, Contra's team took points from the giant in the first round (a 1:1 draw), and in the second round, Al-Hilal managed to score the winning goal only in stoppage time (2:1).

Al-Hilal vs Damac

Al-Hilal vs Damac facts

  • Al-Hilal are unbeaten in 39 matches in the Saudi Arabian Championship (36 wins , 3 draws)
  • Damac have not won in 7 matches in a row (3 draws, 4 losses)
  • Al-Hilal have not scored less than 3 goals in their last 4 home matches of the championship

Odds from download 1xbet

The 1xbet bookmaker offers to bet on Al-Hilal's victory in this match with a coefficient of 1.20. The probability of a draw is estimated at a coefficient of 6.55, and on the victory of the underdog - the guests from Damac, you can bet with a coefficient of 13.00. Download 1xbet to your phone and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

Damac is an inconvenient opponent for Al-Hilal, having not lost to the Saudi football giants by more than one goal in 4 matches in a row. And Al-Hilal has not had a crushing victory over this opponent since 2019. We do not expect it this time either. Cosmin Contra's team knows how to be reliable in defense, and the strengthening of the squad in the summer (primarily the goalkeeper position) will only contribute to high-quality play in defense against the guests.

Our prediction for Al-Hilal - Damac is a victory for the away team with a handicap (+2.5) at odds of 1.63. A riskier bet on the match is a handicap (+2) at 2.05, but there is an assumption that there will be a "return" on such a bet.

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