AFC Champions League | Group Stage

Oct 21, 2024 at 5pm UK

Al-Ain vs Al-Hilal

Match preview

AFC Champions League defending champions Al-Ain are having a tough start to the new season. They're currently in sixth place in the UAE Pro League and already eight points behind league leaders Sharjah.

Al Zaeem had a disappointing start to the competition, drawing 1-1 with Al Sadd in their opening match and losing 4-2 to Al Gharafa at the start of this month.

After that, Hernan Crespo's side lost 2-1 at home to Al Wahda before the international break. That's the first time they've lost two matches in a row since May.

The two-week break seems to have done the team some good, though. They came back from international duty with a strong 4-0 win over Hatta last week, which secured their spot in the quarter-final of the President's Cup.

Even though they've had a bit of a rough patch this season, Al Ain have still done pretty well at home. They've won four and drawn one of their six games at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, with the only blip being the loss to Al Wahda.

Meanwhile, this match is a chance for Al-Hilal to redeem themselves after losing to this opponent in last season's semi-finals.

The Blue Waves lost 4-2 at this venue in the first leg, and while they won the reverse fixture 2-1 a week later at the Kingdom Arena, it wasn't enough to overturn the deficit in the tie (5-4 aggregate).

Jorge Jesus's side are flying in from Portugal in great form. They've won all 12 of their matches across all competitions this term and already have a piece of silverware, having beaten rivals Al-Nassr in the Saudi Super Cup.

Al-Za'eem beat Al Rayyan 3-1 and had five without reply against Al Shorta in the last two rounds. They are now one of only three sides, along with Gwangju and fellow PIF-owned Pro League side Al Ahli, who have won both previous matches in this competition.

After beating Al-Fayha 3-0 in their domestic league at the weekend, Al-Hilal have now scored an impressive 33 goals already this season. They've only failed to net two or more in two of their 12 matches so far.

Recent Performance

Al-Ain AFC Champions League form:DL

Al-Ain form (all competitions):WWLLWW

Al-Hilal AFC Champions League form:WW

Al-Hilal form (all competitions):WWWWWW

Injuries and suspensions

Al-Ain

No sidelined players

Al-Hilal

10 Neymar (uncertain)

Possible starting lineups

Al-Ain possible starting lineup:

Eisa, Al-Ahbabi, Cardoso, Autonne, Erik; Park, Traore; Sanabria, Palacios, Romero; Rahimi

Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:

Al-Rubaie, Cancelo, Koulibaly, Al Bulaihi, Lodi; neves, Milinkovic-Savic; Malcolm, Leonardo, Al-Dawsari; Mitrovic