Al-Hilal manager Simone Inzaghi has been forced to include several substitutes in his starting line-up to make up for the absences in the squad ahead of the match against Al-Taawoun.
Al-Hilal host Al-Taawoun today, Saturday, at the Kingdom Arena, in the 27th round of the Roshen League.
Inzaghi announced the team’s official line-up, which featured just seven foreign players, with the rest of the squad unavailable due to injuries and suspensions.
Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić is out due to accumulated yellow cards, while Frenchmen Simon Bouabri and Karim Benzema are sidelined through injury, as is Turkish defender Yusuf Akçıkçık.
In addition, several key local players are out through injury, including wingers Salem Al-Dossari and Sultan Mandash, midfielder Nasser Al-Dossari, and right-back Hamad Al-Yami.
The Italian manager has relied on Brazilian Marcos Leonardo and Ivorian Mohamed Kader Miti in attack, with Brazilian winger Malcom supporting them to make up for the absence of Benzema and Salem Al-Dossari.
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Inzaghi also fielded Murad Hawsawi in midfield, alongside Mohammed Kano and Portuguese player Ruben Neves, to make up for the absence of Savic and Nasser Al-Dossari.
Conversely, Inzaghi was forced to rely on several players from Al-Hilal’s Under-21 squad on the substitutes’ bench, including Abdulaziz Al-Jarmoush, Mishaal Al-Dawood, Abdullah Al-Zaid, Mohammed Al-Zaid, Suhaib Al-Zaid and Saad Al-Mutairi.
Inzaghi hopes to overcome these absences in order to continue competing for the Saudi Pro League title, as his side sit second in the table with 64 points, six points behind leaders Al-Nassr, who have played one game more.
Al-Hilal’s line-up was as follows:
Goalkeeper: Yassine Bounou
Defence: Mutaib Al-Harbi – Hassan Tambakti – Kalidou Koulibaly – Theo Hernández
Midfield: Murad Hawsawi – Ruben Neves – Mohammed Kanno
Forward line: Malcom – Marcus Leonardo – Mohamed Kader Miti
