Al-Kholud vs Al-Hilal. Will the leader fail?

On Saturday, September 28, a match between Al-Kholud and Al-Hilal will take place at Al-Hazem Stadium in Al-Ras as part of the 5th round of the Saudi Arabian League.

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• Al-Kholud vs Al-Hilal facts
• Odds
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Al-Kholud vs Al-Hilal

Al-Kholud

Despite its more than 50-year history, Al-Kholud has never grabbed the stars from the sky and by Saudi standards is a classic representative of the "lower football caste", hovering between divisions from year to year. Last campaign, the team from Al-Ras played in the second strongest league of Saudi Arabia, and despite the promotion to the class - it would seem an obvious success, before the start of the new campaign, the head coach at the club changed. In the elite division, Al-Kholud plays under the guidance of the experienced Portuguese Paulo Duarte, who has traveled a lot around the world, and before his trip to Saudi Arabia, he headed the Togolese national team.

Al-Kholud's squad has also been strengthened quite well by newcomers. Goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe, defenders Troost-Ekong and Diomber, wingers Maulida and Alex Collado - all fairly well-known characters with varying degrees of background in stronger leagues than the Saudi one.

And the start of the season for Al-Khulud has been quite tolerable so far – 4 points have been taken in 4 rounds, which allows Duarte’s charges to be located close to the middle of the tournament table – in 11th place. Although it is clear that the whole struggle to retain their place – and this is the initial goal of the new coaching staff – is still ahead.

Al-Hilal

The current champion of the Saudi Arabian League has already managed to take sole control of the new season's standings. Four wins in four matches - only Al-Hilal has managed this in the 2024/25 campaign, while the best of Jorge Jesus' team's pursuers - Al-Ittihad, Al-Shabab and Al-Ittifaq - are already three points behind.

Al-Hilal beat the first of this list in the last round of the championship – 3:1, thanks to goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic (a double) and Salem Al-Dawsari, to which Al-Ittihad was only able to respond at the end with a consolation goal from Karim Benzema. Symbolically, in the Saudi league scorers’ race, Mitrovic is ahead of Karim – by the same three points as his team – the closest pursuer in the rankings.

In addition to victories in the championship, Al-Hilal carefully adds results in other tournaments to its “collection of victories”. For example, on Tuesday, a representative of the lower division, Al-Bukayriya, was beaten in the national cup. However, in this match, Jesus’ charges decided to do without “goal festivals” and limited themselves to a minimal victory of 1:0.

True, the champion did not play in the optimal lineup. Some were given a rest, and some were given limited time on the field (like Mitrovic, who came out for only half the time).

Al-Hilal has few personnel problems. Former Zinit player Malcom has some minor muscle problems, and of course another representative of the country of samba and carnivals, Neymar, is still undergoing treatment.

Al-Kholud vs Al-Hilal facts

• Al-Hilal have won all 6 matches in different tournaments this season
• Al-Hilal are unbeaten in 40 consecutive Saudi Arabian league matches – 37 wins and only 3 draws
• Al-Kholud scored in 4 consecutive matches of the new season (championship and cup of the country)
• Al-Kholud's Alex Collado has scored in three consecutive Saudi Arabian league matches

Odds from download 1xbet

In the bookmaker's office 1xbet, you can bet on the victory of Al-Hilal, who are the favorites of this confrontation, with a coefficient of 1.13. The probability of a draw is estimated at a coefficient of 8.50, and on the victory of the hosts - the Al-Kholud team, you can bet with a coefficient of 16.00. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

It is unlikely that the newcomer to the elite division will be able to stop the champion and the owner of an outstanding series without defeats in the Saudi league. In the middle of the week, Al-Hilal saved a little energy of its star players, and all of them will probably be thrown at the next opponent in the championship. The only thing that Al-Kholud can do in this confrontation is to add their mite to the overall "piggy bank" of results, so the optimal bet on the Al-Kholud - Al-Hilal match in our opinion is the total over 4 goals with a coefficient of 1.87.