Al Ain FC vs Al Hilal Prediction & Betting Tips - AFC Champions League

Prediction published on 14/04/2024, 12:00  by Sridhar | Modified on 17/04/2024 at 04:00 in Football Predictions

One step away from getting a hit at the AFC Champions League 2023/24, Al Ain and Al Hilal meet in the semi-finals. The first leg of this tie will be played at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, UAE. The winner of this two-legged tie will face the winners of Ulsan HD and Yokohama Marinos in the final. The home team is third in the UAE Pro League standings after 18 matches and is currently on a four-game winless run. They lost and drew two matches, including a 2-2 result against Al Jazira last time out. Al Ain started this tournament by topping Group A with five wins and one loss. They then overcame Uzbekistan's Nasaf in the round of 16 by a 2-1 aggregate. It was a glamorous outing that followed against Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr, which the Saudis won via penalties. With eight wins out of their last ten in this competition, the home fans will be quietly confident of the team rising to the occasion.

Al Hilal are currently racing away at the top of the Saudi Pro League with a 12-point lead after 27 rounds. They have won an incredible 34 competitive matches in a row, giving them a launchpad to start well in this semi-final. Even in the AFC Champions League, the visitors have won their last nine matches in a row, showing their prowess in the continental competition. In this tournament, they topped Group D in the preliminary stages, winning five and drawing one match. Al Hilal followed it up with a 6-2 aggregate win over Sepahan and a 4-0 aggregate win over Al-Ittihad in the quarters. It was as recently as 2022 that they made it to the finals, so there would be hopes of crossing this tie and at least repeating that feat.