Lionel Messi’s star-studded Inter Miami side continue their international preseason tour with a friendly against Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal in Riyadh on Monday night.
No club on the planet could come close to Al Hilal’s outrageous net spend of £300m last summer, bringing the likes of Neymar, Ruben Neves and Aleksandar Mitrovic to Saudi. Unlike some of the other teams in the division, Al Hilal’s wealth has been well spent. The Riyadh club sit top of the expanded Saudi Pro League, boasting an unbeaten record at the halfway stage of the campaign.
Miami have already faced the national team of El Salvador and domestic rivals FC Dallas in a circuitous warm-up programme ahead of the 2024 MLS season. Despite fielding Luis Suarez alongside Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, Gerardo Martino’s side are yet to win or score a goal thus far.
Here’s everything you need to know about Monday’s glamour friendly.
Al Hilal vs Inter Miami H2H Record (All Time)
This is the first time Al Hilal and Inter Miami have met in any competition.
Current Form (Last Five Games)
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FOCUS 👌🏻#AlHilal 💙 pic.twitter.com/GnujOSacvW
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) January 26, 2024
The chief fitness concern that has been hanging over Al Hilal since October comes in the form of a certain Brazilian playmaker. Neymar was stretchered off for Brazil with a season-ending knee injury last year.
Neymar has been joined in the treatment room by long-term absentee Muteb Al Mufarrij while former first-choice goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais is struggling with a back injury.
Al Owais hasn’t been handed a minute of league action this season after the arrival of World Cup semi-finalist Yassine Bounou. However, the Morocco international will be preparing for the knockout stages of this year’s African Cup of Nations rather than the visit of Messi and co. Centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly is also away with defending African champions Senegal.
No fewer than nine Al Hilal players are part of Roberto Mancini’s squad for the ongoing Asian Cup. Saudi Arabia go up against a fancied South Korean side in the round of 16 on Tuesday afternoon.
Al Hilal predicted lineup vs Inter Miami (4-2-3-1): Al Wutaian; Al Burayk, K Al Dawsari, Jahfali, Al Shahrani; Neves, Milinkovic-Savic; Michael, Malcom, Al-Qahtani; Mitrovic
The first practice in Riyadh ✅ pic.twitter.com/DBquw1Gnzp
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) January 26, 2024
Inter Miami have lost the energetic midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi to a sports hernia injury for at least two months, joining Ian Fray, Franco Negri and Corentin Jean on the sidelines.
Martino has started his ‘Fab Four’ of Messi, Suarez, Busquets and Alba in each of the club’s friendlies but is managing the minutes of the ageing quartet. The Barcelona old boys will almost certainly line up for Miami on Monday but will be on the bench by the final whistle.
Inter Miami predicted lineup vs Al Hilal (5-3-2): Callender; Yedlin, Aviles, Kryvstov, Allen, Alba; Gressel, Busquets, Ruiz; Suarez, Messi.
Ploughing through any opponent unfortunate enough to come up against them, Al Hilal have won their last 20 matches across all competitions. Since ironing out the few issues that arose in September – which coincided with Neymar’s brief spell in the team – Al Hilal have been relentless and ruthless. The Pro League champions-elect have already recorded 19 clean sheets this season.
However, Al Hilal have 11 players away at various international tournaments for this friendly, including four of this season’s six most-used figures.
Inter Miami have all their stars available but they are still clearly easing their way back to full fitness ahead of a congested campaign. In what may be a staccato affair between two undercooked outfits, Al Hilal’s fleet of talented internationals should give the hosts the edge.
