Simone Inzaghi has already made his debut on the Al-Hilal bench after leaving Inter. He did so with little training and in a tournament, the Club World Cup, which is truly of a high level. The Saudi team also made an excellent impression, immediately showing some good things. Now that Inzaghi has had time to work and strengthen the team, we can say that they are starting the league as favorites.
And the debut is quite simple against Al Riyad, a team that does not have any particular objectives and knows very well that it is impossible to come out unscathed from this first league match. Inzaghi, for his part, at least according to the previews on the eve of the match, seems to have decided to change formation, abandoning the 3-5-2 and fielding a 4-3-3. Then again, who knows, he may regret it and return to the system he has always used, or almost always used, since he took over as coach, but with a four-man defense, there is the possibility of giving Theo Hernandez, this summer’s big signing, the space he needs to attack the opponent’s goal. So yes, at the moment, this should be the system that will be used.
There is little to say about Al Riyad, a team that has lost three of its last four matches against Al-Hilal and hopes, dreams (but knows it is impossible) of snatching a draw as it did last February. No, there is really no chance of that happening.
Odds comparison
Al-Hilal’s victory is quoted at 1.09 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and 1.09 on Snai. The “NO GOAL” sign is quoted at 1.88 on Goldbet, Lottomatica, and Snai.
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The prediction
The odds for a win are objectively too low, but we like the NO GOALS option. As we know, Inzaghi focuses heavily on defense and has some important players at the back. In short, a win without conceding any goals (and perhaps with at least three goals in total) is a possibility.
Probable lineups for Al-Hilal-Al Riyad
AL HILAL (4-3-3): Bono; Joao Cancelo, Koulibaly, Tambakti, Hernandez; Ruben Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Kanno; Malcolm, Nunez, S Al Dawsari.
AL RIYAD(5-4-1): Borjan; Al Essa, Barbet, Hazazi, Sergio Gonzalez, Al Tumbukti; Bayesh, Sackey, Toze, Sahlouli; Ramirez.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 4-0