Al Hilal's 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in their first game in Group H of the Club World Cup has put them in a good position to advance to the knockout stages as they prepare to face FC Salzburg.
The Saudi team, managed by former Inter boss Simone Inzaghi, performed well against Real Madrid even without their star striker, Aleksandar Mitrovic, who was sidelined due to injury.
Al Hilal took control early on, creating several scoring opportunities and showing confidence on the field. They now look forward to a match against Salzburg from Austria.
Salzburg managed to secure a 2-1 victory over Pachuca in their first match, but it was a narrow win that required a late goal from Karim Onisiwo.
Team news
Christian Zawieschitzky will continue to stand in for the injured first-choice goalkeeper Alexander Schlager for Salzburg, after making his debut in the win against Pachuca.
Karim Konate and Nicolas Capaldo are still sidelined for Salzburg, while Karim Onisiwo, who scored the winning goal in their first Club World Cup game, will be pushing for a starting spot.
Al-Hilal is expected to be without Aleksandar Mitrovic once again due to a muscle injury, while Nasser Al Dawsari's availability will be decided closer to the match. Marcos Leonardo is likely to lead the attacking line, as he did against Real Madrid.
The stats
Al-Hilal is on a six-game unbeaten run, including the draw against Real Madrid, and has lost only two of their last 15 matches.
Salzburg's recent win over Pachuca marked their first three-game winning streak since March.
In seven of Al-Hilal's last 10 matches and all of Salzburg's last five games, there have been over 2.5 goals scored.
Dorgeles Nene has scored eight goals in his last 10 appearances for Salzburg.
In nine of Salzburg's last 10 matches and in five of Al Hilal’s last seven games, both teams have scored.
Al Hilal's midfielder Ruben Neves has received four yellow cards in his last six matches.
Prediction
After their impressive performance against Real Madrid, Al-Hilal will be in high spirits and will rely on their talented squad, which includes players like Joao Cancelo, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Malcolm, and Neves.
Although missing Mitrovic is a setback, Al Hilal showed determination against Real Madrid, and the match against Salzburg should be a less challenging task.
Salzburg managed a 2-1 win over Pachuca in their first game, but they were outshot 17-10 and may consider themselves fortunate. Al Hilal, with Inzaghi at the helm, can only improve, and a similar performance to the one against Real Madrid should see them through this match.
Al Hilal had 13 shots in the game against Real Madrid, and they should have more opportunities against Salzburg, a team that has kept only one clean sheet in their last 10 matches.