Al Hilal SFC vs Zamalek SC: It's Time!

As we head into the sixth league match of football's New World Order, the tables are beginning to take shape. At the start of the season there was much transfer activity, but most teams were unknown quantities, and picking who would be scrapping it out for survival and who would be gunning for the title was no easy task. Saudi side Al Hilal and Egyptians Zamalek have both had decent starts, losing just one league game each, and tomorrow they meet at Al Hilal's impressive King Fahd stadium. The winners will keep pace with the division's leading teams, but the losers will fall into the mid-table mix. A draw won't be a good result for either side.

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Both clubs have star strikers, but will it be Al Hilail's Italian international Andrea Belotti or Zamalek's German star Mario Gomez celebrating at the final whistle?

With both teams going into the game off the back of their first loss of the season, both will be determined to bounce back and keep the momentum going. In his pre-match conference today, Al Hilal boss Alessandro Ioli suggested a tough game, but thinks that the home advantage could see them come out on top.

"The match of tomorrow evening will tell us who we are, it will tell if we are a team or not. It will tell us if we will resume as a collective or if we will be singled out individually. Zamalek is a tough team to face because it has strong players. What do I think about Mr Kev Wright? He is a very experienced trainer who knows reading the game very well. Who will be decisive? The 67,000 of King Fahd International.”

Kev Wright agreed that home advantage will play a part, but said that his experienced players won't be intimidated.

"These guys are used to big games in big stadiums, and we'll have a strong group of fans there ourselves. Given the relatively small distance, we're expecting plenty of supporters to make the trip. Al Hilal have a great mix of youth and experience, Alessandro has done well with his signings, but we won't be fazed. Our players know how to remain focused. With the strike force they've got there's always going to be a danger, but I think we have one of the strongest defenses in the league, and I expect some interesting battles there. We're confident we can come away with the 3 points."