SportsMall previews Monday's AFC Champions League clash between Al-Ain and Al-Hilal, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Headlining the third day of the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite Tournament Al Ain taking Al-Hilal Tuesday night at Hazza bin Saeed Stadium.
The hosts come into the match in 10th place in Group B with one point after two games, while the visitors sit at the top of the table with a perfect record.
Competition Preview
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Defending AFC Champions League champions Al-Ain have enjoyed a difficult start to the new season, currently sitting sixth in the UAE Pro League and already eight points behind the league leader , Sharjah.
In the competition, Al Zaim recorded a disappointing 1-1 draw against Al Sadd in their opening match before suffering a heavy 4-2 defeat at the hands of Al Qarafa earlier this month.
Hernan CrespoThey followed up with a shock 2-1 defeat to Al Wahda before the international break.
However, the two-week break appears to have helped the team sort out some of their issues as they returned from international duty with a 4-0 win over Hatta last week to book their place in the Cup quarter-finals. of the President. .
Despite their drop in form this season, Al-Ain have maintained a solid home record at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, with four wins and one draw in their six matches.
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Meanwhile, the match will be seen as a chance for redemption for Al-Hilal as they were the rivals who ended their Champions League campaign in the semi-finals last season.
The Blue Waves lost the first leg at this venue 4-2 and won the second leg 2-1 at the Kingdom Arena a week later, which was not enough to overcome the deficit in the tie (5-4 in the global).
george jesusThe UAE team is in impeccable form, having won 12 of its matches in all competitions this season, beating rival Al-Nasser in the Saudi Arabia Super Cup and already owning a silver medal .
Al-Saim beat Al Rayyan 3-1 and smashed five unanswered in the last two rounds against Al Sharda and is now one of the three teams, along with Gwangju and Al Ahly, owned by the PIF-owned Pro League . This match was won in the previous two matches.
After beating Al Fayha 3-0 in their domestic league at the weekend, Al-Hilal have already scored 33 goals this season and have only managed two or more goals in two of their 12 matches to date.
Al-Ain AFC Champions League Format:
Al-Ain format (all matches):
Al-Hilal AFC Champions League Format:
Al-Hilal form (all matches):
Group messages
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save He was forced to miss Al-Ain's President Cup victory over Hatta last week, having only returned hours before the start of international duty with Paraguay, although he should return to the starting lineup this week.
Matias Segovia Last time out he started in midfield and the 21-year-old put in an excellent performance, scoring a stunning goal from the edge of the box, which he hopes will be enough to keep him in the starting 11 this week.
For Al-Hilal, the main topic of conversation in this match is the possible return of the Brazilian superstar NeymarHe spent the last year recovering from a torn cruciate ligament.
Alexander Mitrovic The Blue Waves have been in sensational form this season, with nine goals in seven league games, one goal and one assist in two games in this competition.
Yassin Bounau The injury occurred while he was on international duty with Morocco, forcing him to miss the weekend's victory over Al Fayha. If you cannot return in time for this match, Muhammad al-Rubai He will probably continue between the sticks for the visitors.
Possible order of departure from Al-Ain:
Eisa, Al-Ahbabi, Cardoso, Autonne, Erik; Park, Trare; Sanabria, Palacios, Romero; Rahimi
Al-Hilal's possible starting lineup:
Al-Rubai, Cancelo, Koulibaly, Al Bulaihi, Lodi; Neves, Milinkovic-Savic; Malcolm, Leonardo, Al-Tawsari; Mitrovic
We say: Al-Ayn 2-3 Al-Hilal
Although Al-Ain have had a great run against this rival at this venue, they have been far from their best this season and given Al-Hilal's record this season, we believe the Blue Waves can do it. With this they get revenge.
There is no data analysis information.
