Al Hilal, who was the main title contender as they have the best team in the tournament, received a shocking defeat 4:2 in the previous game. Nobody expected that result, given the quality difference between both teams and also the amazing winning run that Al Hilal had - 34 consecutive victories, which was a new world record.

Al Ain has a decent squad, but they aren’t even the best team in the UAE. This is their first participation in the AFC Champions League since 2020 (where they finished 4th in the group stage), so they are lacking experience as well. For Al Hilal, no team has been more successful than them in the history of the AFC Champions League, with the Riyadh giants winning the trophy a record four times and finishing runners-up in 5 times. Its most recent triumph was in 2021 when South Korea’s Pohang Steelers was dispatched in the final, while Al Hilal narrowly lost last year’s showpiece to Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan.

Al Hilal is in great form and are full of confidence after beating Al Ittihad to win the Saudi Super Cup. The Saudi team are in unbelievable form and, even though Aleksandar Mitrovic is injured and they are keenly feeling his absence, have so many other goal threats.

Brazilian winger Malcom has been in particularly sparkling form of late, while Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic also continue to impress, and Salem Al Dawsari will also be key. Ruben Neves will also play a crucial role. He has contributed as many goals as his teammate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but his ability to generally dictate play with smart passing and movement, as well as his excellent set-piece delivery, makes him a major asset.

Battling Neves for creative supremacy in the tie will be Morocco international Soufiane Rahimi.

Upfront, I think either Saleh Al Shehri or Abdullah Al Hamdan will take Mitrovic’s place and, while they’re not at the Serbian’s level, with the creativity in the Al Hilal side and the full-backs pushing forward to send crosses in, I’m sure they’ll get chances to score.

In the previous game Al Hilal made a terrible performance in defense, but Salem Al Dawsari’s goal at 78’ gave them some hope to make a comeback and qualify. To do that, they need to make a strong performance with high pressure, trying to score the first goal as soon as possible.

On the other hand, Al Ain has a weak squad whose value is less than 35MM Euros. Al Hilal’s value is above 240MM Euros. However, they made a great tournament so far, beating Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the previous round in a penalty shootout.

Al Ain has previously boasted stronger squads than its current collective but there are still plenty of talented players. Togo striker Kodjo Laba has been a reliable source of goals and has six in this season’s AFC Champions League, while influential Morocco midfielder Soufiane Rahimi has contributed 17 from midfield in all competitions. Creativity has come chiefly from Rahimi and diminutive Paraguayan No. 10 Kaku, who beat Al Hilal in Riyadh when he played for Al Taawoun last season. He has 9 assists and 7 goals.

But as said above, Soufiane Rahimi will be their key player. He has been a valuable source of both goals and assists for Al Ain since arriving from Raja Casablanca in 2021. His speed and penchant for getting in behind defences - especially on the counter-attack – are a key weapon for Crespo’s side. Rahimi has reserved his best performances for continental competition this season.

I expect Al Hilal to attack a lot, and although they are struggling without Mitrovic, has plenty of alternatives and quality to score goals here. They are very strong in defense and I’m sure that the previous game was just an accident, and they won’t concede too much here. I expect the midfielder pairing of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves to dominate, so Al Ain might not get many goalscoring chances.

The Saudi club has enough strength in depth and are too strong to advance at Al Ain’s expense.

阿尔·希拉尔是本届锦标赛中最有力的竞争者，但在前一场比赛中以4:2惨败。没有人预料到这样的结果，考虑到两队之间的实力差距，以及阿尔·希拉尔惊人的连胜纪录——34连胜，这是新的世界纪录。

艾因队的阵容不错，但他们甚至不是阿联酋最好的球队。这是他们自2020年(小组赛第四名)以来首次参加亚冠联赛，因此他们也缺乏经验。对于阿尔希拉尔来说，在亚冠历史上，没有一支球队比他们更成功，利雅得巨人队创纪录地四次赢得冠军，五次获得亚军。它最近的一次胜利是在2021年，韩国浦项钢人队在决赛中被淘汰，而阿尔希拉尔队在去年的比赛中以微弱优势输给了日本的浦和红钻队。

在击败伊蒂哈德赢得沙特超级杯后，希拉勒状态极佳，信心十足。沙特队的状态令人难以置信，尽管米特罗维奇受伤了，他们也对他的缺席感到非常难过，但他们还有很多其他的进球威胁。

巴西边锋马尔科姆最近的表现特别抢眼，而鲁本·内维斯和米林科维奇也继续给人留下深刻的印象，萨勒姆·阿尔·道萨里也将是关键。鲁本·内维斯也将发挥关键作用。他贡献的进球和他的队友米林科维奇一样多，但他通过巧妙的传球和跑动来主导比赛的能力，以及他出色的定位球传递，使他成为球队的重要资产。

摩洛哥国脚拉希米将与内维斯争夺创意权。

在前场，我认为萨拉赫-谢赫里或阿卜杜拉-哈姆丹将会取代米特罗维奇的位置，虽然他们的水平比不上塞尔维亚人，但凭借阿尔-希拉尔边后卫的创造力和不断向前推进的传中，我相信他们会有进球的机会。

在上一场比赛中，阿尔·希拉尔在防守上的表现很糟糕，但塞勒姆·阿尔·道萨里在78分的进球给了他们一些希望，让他们能够逆转并晋级。要做到这一点，他们需要在高压下表现出色，试图尽快取得第一个进球。

另一方面，阿尔艾因的阵容很弱，价值不到3500万欧元。希拉勒的身价超过2.4亿欧元。然而，到目前为止，他们在比赛中表现出色，在上一轮的点球大战中击败了罗纳尔多的阿尔·纳赛尔。

阿尔艾因之前曾吹嘘过比现在更强大的阵容，但仍然有很多有天赋的球员。多哥前锋科约·拉巴是一个可靠的进球来源，在本赛季的亚冠联赛中打进6球，而摩洛哥中场拉希米在所有比赛中都贡献了17球。创造力主要来自拉希米和身材矮小的巴拉圭10号卡库，他上赛季在利雅得为阿尔塔乌文效力时击败了阿尔希拉尔。他有9次助攻和7个进球。

但正如上面所说，Soufiane Rahimi将是他们的关键球员。自2021年从卡萨布兰卡转会到阿尔艾因以来，他一直是进球和助攻的重要来源。他的速度和突破防守的能力——尤其是在反击中——是克雷斯波的关键武器。拉希米在本赛季的欧陆比赛中保留了他最好的表现。

我希望阿尔-希拉尔能经常进攻，尽管他们在没有米特罗维奇的情况下很挣扎，但他们有很多选择和能力来进球。他们的防守非常强大，我相信上一场比赛只是一个意外，他们不会在这里丢太多球。我预计米林科维奇-萨维奇和鲁本-内维斯的中场组合将占据主导地位，因此艾因可能不会有很多进球机会。

沙特俱乐部有足够的纵深实力，而且实力强大，不可能以牺牲阿尔艾因为代价而晋级。